Forbidden Child: Continued
by Silkmouse
Summary: (Adopted from the original story by CurlyBlueCutie) Ararbella DeLuna is the only child of Artemis to have ever existed; so things don't exactly go over well when she and her friends finally arrive at Camp Half-Blood. One thing's for sure; it's going to take one heck of a quest to convince the gods that she's worthy enough to exist, or else it's game over for Arabella.
1. Artemis Breaks Her Vow

**Hey Readers! I know, I know, this isn't CurlyBlueCutie. As you probably know, the fifth chapter of the original Forbidden Child has an authors note saying CurlyBlueCutie was giving the story up, and anyone who PMd first got to write the story. **

**Well...**

**I was the first person to PM ! So Forbidden Child is now under new management! Hope the readers don't mind to much, but there are going to be a few changes in the story. **

**R&R and tell me what you think.**

Artemis POV

I looked down at that poor old mortal I'd been watching for the past few months. He was so poor and worked hard on a little farm for nothing. No crops. No money. No family. I had been visiting him in disguise as a mortal woman named Adara, only out of pity of course. As I watched him and visited him, he had told me that if he had a daughter, he would be happy. He wouldn't need anything else.

"But do you believe this is the best environment for a young maiden?" I had asked him.

"No, I don't. I suppose I'm just being selfish." He replied gloomily.

Looking upon him now, my pity got the best of me. I dismounted my throne and went to see Demeter. I knocked on her chamber door.

"Come in," she said a little sad. Poor thing. Still sad about Persephone being gone.

I stepped in.

"Oh, hello Artemis."

"Hello Demeter. I'm in a hurry, so I'll just get right to it." I paused, thinking about what to say. "There's this man, a mortal," I began. Her eyebrows crinkled when I said man. "The thing is, I've been watching him. He's just so pitiful, Demeter. He has nothing at all. I visited him, and he told me his life would be better if he were to have a daughter…"

"Artemis no! You cannot break your oath!" Demeter yelled.

"No, no! I wasn't thinking that at all. But, what if I somehow, created a baby? Surely I can without breaking my oath,"

Demeter thought a moment. "You might be able to actually, with you being the goddess of childbirth. But, why do you need me?"

"I got those rabbits out of your garden. You owe me a favor. Well,I need you to make this man's garden grow vigorously. I mean wonderful produce that never ended."

"I suppose," Demeter said. "Show me this man,"

I parted the clouds to show her the man, Adam De Luna. She smiled at the man, who had a little tiny statue of her in his garden. She stood up and snapped her fingers. Seconds later Adam's garden was bursting with all sorts of crops, EVERYWHERE, as in at least half a mile. Adam looked freaked, then jumped in the air with and kissed the statue of Demeter.

"There. He should be set for life, but I'll refresh his garden every once in while, just in case." She said.

"Thank you Demeter. I can't begin tell you how thankful I am."

"It was nothing. Now, about the baby," she started. "You will need me, you, and Adam."

Artemis nodded "We'll meet tomorrow?"

"Sounds fine to me." She sighed, and mumbled something about Persephone. I excused myself to go celebrate the birth of my very first child.

_*The Next Day*_

Demeter and I met at Adam's house. He came to the door on the second knock. He smiled when he saw me at the door.

"Adara! What brings you here?" he asked.

"Oh me and my aunt Delphina came here on account of business. When you told me that if you only had a daughter, you wouldn't need anything else. Delphina was kind enough to volunteer to witness, so we could give you a daughter and you wouldn't have to worry about money."

"But Adara, you told me you vowed never to get married." Adam said.

"I can make a baby without breaking my oath, my aunt Delphina is an oracle. The goddess Hecate gave her a spell that would make a baby. Now, hold out your arm." He did as I told him. Demeter made a gorgeous moon orchid bloom all the way up to my chest. It opened up. I pulled out a dagger and sliced his arm, then I sliced mine. We each poured some of our blood into the moon orchid. Then Demeter spoke.

_The binding of bloods at this here rite,_

_Shall be the beginning of a new human being._

_Half-god half-man, the girl shall be,_

_With powers of the greatest, she shall defeat._

_Now my gorgeous moon orchid,_

_Close together at last, _

_Until nine months time,_

_A baby shall pass._

_But listen until then,_

_You must be kept safe,_

_And open up to bring a new being._

The flower closed, and I swear I could see it pulsing. Then Demeter handed me the crescent moon necklace I had carved the night before. I draped it across the flower and a bright light shone, like a force field, forever protecting the baby. When ever she took it off, it would transform into a silver bow and arrow. Adam was aghast, and wouldn't stop looking at the flower.

"I will leave you now." I told him "But I warn you, I will not be back." I said as I turned and went out the door.

Adam nodded, as if he understood.

Outside, I pulled around my chariot. When Demeter didn't follow, I said, "Aren't you coming with me?"

"No. I figured since I was already here, I'd go visit Daniel."

"Daniel?" I asked her.

"A mortal I met. His sister is seeing Poseidon and we're goin on a double date. Did I tell you Dionysus has another mortal wife?"

"Did _I _tell _you _my big-headed brother is seeing Calliope again?"

"No you didn't. We must talk more often, you spend too much time with your hunters."

"I suppose I do." I took one last look at Adam and my soon-to-be baby, then took off into the night.

**Hope the readers don't mind the change in dialogue. I tried to make Artemis and Demeter's conversations sound a llittle less valley girl, and alittle more goddess like. **

**PLEASE R&R!**


	2. Three Strangers

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or any of the original characters. The credit to most of these characters goes to CurlyBlueCutie. Also I forgot to mention, this takes place a couple months after 'The Last Olympian' but several months before 'The Lost Hero' which I also do not own (Obviously).**

My life has always been weird. Always. Like that 1st grade teacher that tried to lose me on a field trip. And the time that weird dog almost amputated my arm, not to mention when my babysitter drove me to the lake and tried to drown me.

But enough with pondering weird past moments. I got outta bed and went to look in the mirror. My wavy auburn hair fell down to my chest, and my silver eyes were sparkled. I looked down at the necklace my mom gave me before she disppeared. It was a brilliant crescent moon made of some gorgeous silver stone. My dad told me not to take it off unless there was an emergency. Out of curiosity, I took it off once. As soon as it came off my neck, it changed into a silver bow and arrow. It freaked me out so much I never did it again. I never even told my dad about it.

Oh, I forgot to mention, my name is Arabella De Luna. My dad's name is Adam De Luna. He's a really successful farmer, and sells produce to stores across the united states, so we're pretty loaded. I asked him about my mom once, but I didn't get a very solid answer to what she was like.

"Oh she was a very generous lady, and very nice company." he said every time I asked about her.

When I was six I asked my dad why my mom left us. He shook his a little sadly, and told me it was because she vowed never to get married. Then after she had me, she told him their partnership was over, picked up her bags and left.

I sighed as I picked up my backpack, and headed down the stairs.

My dad was flipping an omelot in the kitchen "Morning Arabella, don't you want any breakfast?"

"No thanks dad, I'm meeting Hayden and Pynzlee at the bus stop." I told him while passing through the kitchen.

"Alright, well then have a good day at school." he said, turning his attention back to the omelot.

"I will dad." I replied absentmindedly, as I went out the door.

I ran to the bus stop, eager to catch up with my friends. My friends names are Hayden Roberts and Pynzlee Wood, and I've known them at least the entire school year. But with my luck I'll probably end up getting kicked out again, just like two times before. At my first school I got in trouble for attacking this one kid who made fun of me for having ADHD. The fact that I punched him in the stomach might not have been enough, except I broke two ribs, bruised his pelvis, and gave him a black eye in the process.

Things went fine at my second school for a while, until the camping field trip, where I set a couple of tents on fire, with a homemade torch. I didn't do it on purpose, a tree branch knocked it out of my hand. No one believed me then either, because (as everyone knows) trees can't move of their own free will. I guess they were right, I mean who else could have done it, a tree spirit? Gimme a break.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of my friends calling me. I waved, as I ran over to the bus stop.

"Hey Ara!" Pynzlee called. She grinned, her black ponytails tossing in the breeze. Her outfit brought out her sea green eyes. She wore a cute light green t-shirt,dark blue jeans, and white converse sneakers.

"Come on slow poke, the bus doesn't wait for just anyone!" Hayden laughed. he was wearing a black shirt that read "I Didn't Do It" in white fingerprints, and blue jeans with red and white Nikes. His blue eyes smiled.

"Sorry guys, " I said, as I neared the stop, "my dad forgot to wake me up today, and I had to reley on my stupid alarm clock."

"I got an idea, get a better alarm." Hayden joked.

I was about to reply, when the bus pulled up. We climbed the steps, and looked for a place to sit. When we found one, I looked around. Pretty much the same old people; there was Mason, Lily, Tabitha, Holden, Katelyn, Antonio, Some kid with crutches, a blond girl, a boy with black hair.

Wait a second. As far as I remembered, those last three never rode our bus before. I turned around to get a closer look. The crutches kid was lanky, he had on blue jeans and white t-shirt, and a rasta style cap with curly hair peaking out. The blond girl looked a little more intimidating. Her eyes were a stormy gray color, when she looked at me I felt like I had just been caught by a really strict teacher. I definitely didn't want to make eye contact with her again, so I moved on to the other boy. He looked so much like Pynzlee, it was scary. Just like Pynzlee, he had Short black hair, sea green eyes, and the fact that he wouldn't stop fidgeting in his seat.

I looked at Pynzlee, and sure enough, she was doing the exact same thing. I leaned over and whispered "Pyn do you have brother you never told me about?"

She stopped fidgeting and gave me a confused look "No, why?" she whispered back.

"Because that kid right there looks just like you." I answered.

Pynzlee looked over her shoulder, at the black haired boy. "A coincidence I guess?" she shrugged.

"HM, maybe." I said, not really sure, but for some reason I suspected it was more than that. Why were they on their bus anyway? They looked about 16, old enough to be in high school! So what were they doing on a middle school bus?

After thinking about it a little longer I decided to just let it go for now. I had other things to worry about, such as my failing History grade. It's like Mrs. Wexler wanted me to _believe _in the Greek myths, I mean, get real lady. It's not like any of the stories are true.

So why did I feel so unsure?

**So how was chapter two?**

**R&R people PLEASE!**


	3. My strangest 3rd period class ever

**Hey readers! I'm **_**really**_** sorry I didn't update sooner, but laziness took a toll on me, not to mention my bad grades. My mom made me promise to work harder next quarter, or NO computer! Can you imagine such a terrible thing? **

**Any way, here it is, chapter 3!**

**BTW. Disclaimer: I do not own Wasabi blindness, Disney Channel and 'Sonny with a Chance' do.**

As the bus pulled up to 'Aristotle Prepetory Academy' (yeah I know, it sounds lame) I rushed to get out of my seat and into the bus bay.

"Whoa, what's the hurry hotshot? Can't wait for math class?" Hayden asked as he and Pynzlee quickly followed after me.

"No." I said, hitting him in the arm "Did you see those three kids in the back of our bus?"

"Oh, you mean the black haired kid, the blond chick, and the weird kid with the acne and the developing goatee?" he replied.

"Uh, yeah. I wanted to get off before they did, so I could see if they were coming to our school." I told him.

Hayden looked toward our bus, and shrugged "Well I didn't see them get off. They probably go to the high school a couple blocks down, and just got on the wrong bus."

"Come on guys, we're gonna be late to our first class." Pynzlee interrupted "I don't know about you but I _do not _want to be tardy."

Hayden folded his hands and did his best to look saintly "Oh Perfect Pynzlee doesn't want to be late, how sweet."

"Shut up. Who's the one who beat you in a hold-your-breath-underwater contest a week ago?" Pynzlee snapped back defiantly.

Hayden reddened, looking extremely embaressed "Well uh, that's because, I had a...Temporary..Air..Relapse!" he stammered.

Pynzlee scoffed "I don't know what a "Temporary Air Relapse" is." she said putting the words in air quotes "All I know is that I beat you badly, by ten minutes." she said smugly, crossing her arms.

Hayden leaned toward me and whispered "There's _no way_ someone could hold their breath for ten minutes. I'll bet she had a mini air tank or something."

I raised an eyebrow at him "A mini air tank?"

He nodded.

"Yeah, that's it." I said sarcastically. As I turned toward the school's entrance, I bumped into a boy with shiny blond hair. The papers he had been holding, fluttered to the ground.

"Watch it." he said with his head down, trying to gather his scattered papers.

"Sorry, it was a-" I started to say, but as he stood up, I realized who it was.

Austin Archer. The bane of my existence.

"Wow. You're actually apologizing to me for once." he said dryly "Are you really Arabella, or just someone who looks like her?"

"I was going to apologize. Until I found out it was you." I replied, narrowing my eyes.

"Gee thanks alot." he scoffed, papers in hand.

"Well I apologized didn't I?" I shot back at him, as he started to walk away.

"Whatever." he muttered.

"The least you could do is say thanks!" I called after him.

"Ooh he is just so annoying!" I said, turning to Hayden and Pynzlee, who were rubbing their eyes as if they trying to recover from the glare of the sun.

"I don't know, Arabella. The way you guys act around each other, it's like, I don't know. It's like you guys are related or something." remarked Pynzlee.

"Shut up, what do you know anyway?" I grouched.

"I swear his hair gets blonder and shinier every day." Hayden said, continuing to blink repeatedly. "Hey!" he gasped "I bet he uses gel made from the rays of the sun!"

Pynzlee gave him a 'get-real' look "Hayden. That is one of the _dumbest_ theories you have _ever _come up with! Besides, you can't get hair that miraculously bright by bleaching, _or _using gel." she stated matter-of-factly.

Before Hayden could give her 'what-for' the sound of the school bell came over the outside PA system.

"Come on, class is starting, and we aren't even in the building yet." I said, as we rushed inside the academy.

_*Later, in 3rd period History*_

"All right everyone, come inside, in a _straight line_." my 3rd period teacher, Mrs. Wexler, informed us as we walked into her class.

I sighed as settled down in my seat. So far I had had a math test and been called up to the board to answer a science question I didn't even _remember_ the answer to. Knowing Mrs. Wexler , this class wasn't going to be so peachy-keen either.

"Okay, now before we get started, I'd like you to welcome three new exchange students, this is Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Grover Underwood." she gestured.

I looked up, and groaned. I recognized those three. This was starting to get creepy, it was the same kids who had been on our bus this morning. What were they _doing_ here?

I looked over at Pynzlee, who had her hand raised.

"Mrs. Wexler?" she asked, frowning.

"Yes Ms. Wood, is there a problem?"

"Well," she hesitated "aren't they a little _old_ to be going to middle school?"

Mrs. Wexler got a concerned look on her face "Ms. Wood do you need to have your vision checked again?"

"But I've had my vision checked, like, 10 times this year! I know I have dyslexia, but I thought that just effected the way you _read_." she complained.

"Well we'll see how you do for the remainder of this class, but if there are any more problems, I'll write you a nurse's pass." My teacher told her, without much sympathy.

"Augh!" Pynzlee vented, falling back into her seat.

Mrs. Wexler turned to the new students "Well you three may go sit in the empty seats in the back row."

As they walked to the back of the room, Mrs. Wexler started writing on the chalkboard "All right, everyone except our new students, please pass up your homework. Quickly now , we haven't got all day."

Next to me, Hayden groaned.

"You forgot to do the homework again didn't you?" I whispered as I pulled out last nights assignment.

"Yeah, and now I'm gonna be in big trouble." he whispered back in a defeated tone.

"Don't talk like that. You'll think of _something_, you always do." Pynzlee told him.

"Don't encourage him." I said, exasperated. Hayden always came up with the most ridiculous excuses.

Mrs. Wexler noticed Hayden's lack of paper "Mr. Roberts, where is your homework?"

Hayden suddenly smiled "Well, you see Mrs. Wexler, I _wanted _to do my homework last night. Buuuut..."

_Oh here we go again. _I looked over at the blond girl named Annabeth. She was staring intensely at Hayden, as if she were trying to figure out a very hard math equation.

"You see, I usually do my homework _after_ dinner, but last night my dad had a craving for Japanese food. So, my mom ordered Japanese take-out. I ordered this Japanese fried shrimp, and some shrimp sauce to go with it. I grabbed the shrimp sauce, and poured it _all _over _every_ square inch of my shrimp. I bent over my plate, and was about to use my fork to eat a bit of shrimp, when suddenly my dad was walking behind me, and his elbow bumped me hard in the back of the head! He sent my head _tumbling_into my plate with a loud 'splat'! As it turns out, it wasn't really shrimp sauce at all, it was Japanese wasabi mustard! My face was _covered_with wasabi, and it burned me, I mean_ burned_! It felt like I had rubbed _acid _all over my eyes! That wasabi burned my eyes _so bad_, that everything just went black! Therefore, giving me...Temporary Wasabi Blindness! And since the wasabi impaired my eyesight for the rest of the evening, I couldn't see the paper or the text book."

He looked at the rest of the class "And that was why I couldn't do my homework last night. So..." he said hesitantly "can I do it tonight?"

Mrs. Wexler stared at him for moment, then let out a finalized "No."

Hayden looked shocked "Why not?" he whined.

"Mr. Roberts, you and I both know that your father doesn't live with you, nor have you ever known him." she stated, adjusting her silver rimmed glasses.

"That just _proves _I'm suffering from Momentary Forgetfulness." he said, in last attempt to convince the teacher that he needed an extra night to complete the assignment.

She looked at him expectantly "Hayden, do you really expect me to believe all the rare diseases, mental problems, and physical disabilities that you claim to have?" she asked.

"Well..." he started

"Don't answer that." she interrupted, while setting the stack of homework on her desk.

"Well you know I _do _have dyslexia and ADHD right?" Hayden asked.

"Yes , it's on your school medical file." Mrs. Wexler replied as she continued to write on the blackboard.

Hayden looked interested "I have a medical file? Hhmm.." he muttered deviously

"And _don't_ even _think_ about hacking into the school system Mr. Roberts."

"Darn!" he mumbled.

"Now that class started over five minutes ago, let's continue." said the teacher "Can anyone tell me who Aristotle is?"

The blond girl shot her hand up in the air before had even finished her sentence.

Mrs. Wexler looked slightly surprised "Yes Annabeth?"

"Aristotle was a Greek Philosohpher from 384 b.c." she said promptly.

"That's correct." my teacher told the class, nodding approvingly "Aristotle was a student of another Greek philosopher, Plato. He also taught the Greek king of Macedonia, Alexander The Great. Now if you'll please open your text books to page 128, I'd like you to read the paragraphs regarding Aristotle's life and works, and answer the following questions on the blackboard." she sat down at her desk and began to grade the homework.

I opened my book and turned to the required page, and sighed, this was going to one long class period. I just hoped it'd be over soon.

**Information on Aristotle gathered from: **_**.org/wiki/Aristotle**_

**So was that funny or what! Well if you didn't think it was, that's okay, me and my sister had a fun time writing it anyway. :-)**

**R&R people!**


	4. My Day Goes from Bad to Worse

**Alright here's chapter four! Enjoy!**

"Man I've never been so hungry in my life!" Hayden commented as he sat down beside me at the lunch table.

I rolled my eyes "Hayden you say that every single day."

Hayden frowned "I do?"

"Yes, you do." Pynzlee told him, as she punch a straw through her juice box "Speaking of which, what have you managed to steal today, Hayden?"

Hayden had a habit of stealing parts of other people's lunch. He would sneak around the cafeteria and snag whatever looked edible. He had been caught a couple of times in the beginning, but continued to do it anyway. He was good at it too, lucky for him, his mom wasn't known for her spectacular lunches.

Hayden smiled "Well let's see," he said as he took inventory "I got 5 juice boxes, 4 packages of fruit snacks, 2 hostess cupcakes , a PB&J sandwhich, and an orange."

"What flavors of juice do you have?" My dad forgot to pack me a water bottle, and I needed something to wash my peanut butter sandwhich down with.

"Hmm, I have fruit punch, lemonade, and wild berry blaster." he replied, laying out the different flavors.

"Hand me the lemonade." I told him, and punched the straw through the juice hole. I took a sip, better.

"What was with those three kids?" Pynzlee asked, snagging a hostess cupcake.

"I don't know, but I hope I don't see them again for the rest of the day. They're starting to freak me out." I said, taking another bite of my sandwhich.

"Well don't look now, because they're sitting right over there." Pynzlee pointed a couple tables down.

I started to look up when Hayden hissed "They're staring at us, whatever you do, Don't. Make. Eye contact!"

"Hayden, please, could you be any more dramatic?" Pynzlee scoffed.

"Just a precaution." he replied indignantly, taking the orange and peeling it "You can never be too careful."

Pynzlee leaned over toward me "You can when your name is Hayden Roberts." she whispered.

I looked over at the table where the 'supposed middle schoolers' were sitting, and sure enough, they were staring at us. The boy named Percy leaned over and said something to the blond girl, and the other boy just kept looking at us. He sniffed the air a couple times, like he was trying to pick up a certain smell or something. Gee, could ya get any weirder?

I quickly turned away, and began to finish the rest of my lunch.

_*Near the end of the school day*_

"I'm glad this day is almost over, I can't wait to go home." I said wearily, as me, Hayden, and Pynzlee walked to our 6th period.

"Tell me about it." Hayden told us, running a hand through his messy salt-and-pepper hair "I'm starting to think those three kids are following us, that blond girl was in _both_ of my electives."

"Me too!" Pynzlee added "I had the crutches kid for video production, and got then stuck with him as a video taping partner. He hardly said two words to me the whole time!" she shuddered "Next thing I know, the black haired kid is there during my swim team practice!"

"I got the black haired kid for 4th period, and the crutches kid for 5th. You guys are right, this is starting to get weird." I stated suspiciously.

As we turned the corner, I ran straight into something hard. I felt a bump the size of a ping pong ball start to develope on my cranium. I looked up and came face to face with Austin Archer.

"Watch where you're going!" he yelped, rubbing his forehead.

"Me? _You're_ the one who ran into _me_!" I countered back. My bump started throb painfully.

"You're the one who turned the corner!" he snapped.

"So did you!"

"You turned the other side of the corner!"

I hesitated, "That doesn't even make any sense!" I yelled back at him.

He snorted "Not to you. See ya, 'Airhead-bella'!" and he walked away.

Steaming, I turned and saw Percy, Annabeth, and Grover, who had apparently heard the whole thing. I had had enough of those three.

"What are you guys looking at?" I demanded.

They all suddenly looked rather embarrassed. The Percy boy said, "Oh. Uh... nothing."

"Good you better be." I snapped.

They began to walk away. I yelled after them, "Yeah, that's right! Keep walking!"

Pynzlee looked at me accusingly "Was all that really necessary?" she asked expectantly.

"What, ya mean yelling at those three kids, or yelling at Austin?" I replied, not feeling a_ bit _guilt for it.

"Both." She answered.

"Then, yes, it was."

"Why are you always defending Austin?" Hayden asked Pynzlee.

She looked surprised "Uh well, that's 'cause' , I um..." she stammered and started blushing an unflattering red.

Hayden turned toward me"Eeeewww, I think she _likes_ him!"

"Gross!" I exclaimed

Pynzlee's blush deepened "Truthfully? Maybe a little bit."

"Pyn do you even realize how awkward that is for me?" I asked her, still remotely sickened.

"Why is it that all the girls like him anyway? He's not _that _handsome is he?" Hayden commented "_Please _don't answer that." he said before Pynzlee could reply. Hayden let out his one of a kind I-have-an-idea gasp "Maybe his hair is really _magic _hair! Maybe that's why all the girls like him, and why his hair is always so shiny, because it's magic!" he looked from Pynzlee to me, as if expecting an answer.

"Hayden, that's ridiculous, even for you." I said, and me and Pynzlee hit him on the opposite arm.

"Ow!" he yelped, rubbing his arms "It was just an idea!"

"A _dumb _idea." Pynzlee stated.

As we neared my 6th period classroom (which happens to be the gym) I said good-bye to Hayden and Pynzlee and and sat down on the bleachers. I looked around at the other students. I couldn't see the three kids who had been following us, I let out a sigh of relief, and opened the dodgeball cabinet. I took out a couple and handed them to the other players.

Our school is known for it's dodgeball team, and we're one of the only schools in the country to have one. I'm pretty good at it, I can catch about three balls at a time, and throw up to four. I hardly ever miss, so before long I was named captain of the 'Aristotle Prep Academy' dodgeball team.

I smiled as the coach blew the whistle, and yelled "Fire!"

I picked up a ball and aimed for this one tough looking kid on the other side of the gym. I threw with all my might, and hit him 'smack' in the forehead.

I grinned, and picked up another ball...

**I know most of you are probably wondering "When do they get to camp Half-Blood?" don't worry we're getting to that. All in good time, my dear readers, all in good time. **

**I'd also like to thank my younger sister Awesomeasumpta for helping me type this story. Without her chapters 3 and 4 wouldn't be as good as they are right now. :-)**


	5. We Get Attacked by Giant Dogs

**Dadadada! Chapter 5!_*applause is heard*_**

**Disclaimer: *disgruntled tone* I don't own PJATO blah blah blah, whatever, let's move on...**

As dodgeball practice ended, I met Hayden and Pynzlee outside the gym.

"Were those weird kids in _your _class?" Hayden asked me.

I shook my head. As much as I had wanted them to leave us alone, I started to wonder where they went.

"Huh, you know, they weren't in my class either." Hayden said, looking surprised.

We turned to Pynzlee. She shook her head "Uh-uh."

"I don't what's stranger; when they were following us, or when they weren't." I said.

We walked to the bus bay in silence. Suddenly Pynzlee stopped. "Oh no!"

Hayden twisted and turned looking in every direction. "What! Are those weird kids following us again?"

"No!" Pynzlee exclaimed "We're about to miss our bus ride home!" She pointed to the bus bay, where we could clearly see bus number 30 pulling away.

We ran as quickly as we could to the bus bay, but we were too late, the bus had already turned the corner.

Hayden shrugged "I guess we're walking then."

"Just as long as we don't run into those three kids." Pynzlee groaned out of frustration.

As we turned around to head home, we saw three figures in the distance. I recognized those guys. "You've got to be kidding me!" I said under my breath, but loud enough for Hayden and Pynzlee to hear.

"Not them _again_!" Hayden exclaimed "I thought they had finally decided to leave us alone."

Pynzlee gasped dramatically "Maybe we're being _stalked_!"

Hayden rolled his eyes "Oh, please. Get real Pynzlee!"

"Hey!" the blond girl called out.

"Is she talking to us?" I asked.

"Duh, 'Airhead-bella', I don't see anyone else around here _but _us." Pynzlee scoffed.

"What have I told you about calling me that?"

Before Pynzlee could answer, the crutches kid yelled "Hey, you guys!"

Hayden turned to Pynzlee "Oh my gosh! You're right! They _are _stalking us!"

"Run!" I shouted at them.

We began running faster than before, eager to get away from our apparent stalkers. We hurried from the bus bay, not daring to look back and see if the three were following us.

We turned and ran smack into Austin.

"Do you have a daily quota for running into me or something?" he said accusingly "You do realize this is the third time today?"

"Can you save your petty argument for later?" Pynzlee interrupted before I could start yelling at him.

"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"Because we're being followed!" she yelled back. I was surprised. That was the first time I had ever heard Pynzlee yell at somebody who wasn't Hayden or me.

Austin's eyes widened as he looked behind us "You too?"

"What do you _mean_ us too?" I narrowed my eyes at him. What was he playing at?

He threw his hands up "I don't know! But what I do know is that these three weird kids have been following me all day!"

"Well let's not just stand here and let them catch up!" Hayden pointed out. "Come on!"

We all started running, we didn't know where, just as long as it was away from those kids. We turned corners, crossed streets, and cut through alleys, before we knew it we had run five blocks.

Panting, Hayden stopped "Can-we-rest-now?"

"Sure." I wheezed. Even for me and Pynzlee, five blocks was a lot.

"Do you think we lost them?" Austin asked.

"I hope so." Pynzlee said "But maybe we should stay here for a couple more minutes, just in case they're close by."

We waited in suspense for about 5 minutes. I looked at our surroundings, we were in an alleyway about 10 feet wide, the sidewalk was damp with leaking sewage. Gross. Finally, Pynzlee poked her head around the corner, and gave the all-clear.

Just as we were about to turn the corner and go our separate ways, there was a distant sounding growling noise.

I looked over at Hayden "Hayden, was that your stomach?"

He shook his head "I'm not hungry anymore."

We heard the growling again. "Austin?" I asked anxiously.

"No." He answered, starting to look terrified.

The growling sounded again, louder this time. I turned doubtfully to Pynzlee "Pynzlee?" I squeaked.

Eyes wide, she shook her head.

I looked at Hayden, Austin, and Pynzlee. "Then, who was it?"

We turned around, coming into the alley were two enormous dogs. They were so big; they made Sasquatch and the Abominable Snow Man, combined, look like two small and innocent squirrels.

Pynzlee screamed, Hayden turned white, and Austin and me were just speechless. Dumbstruck, we stood there and trembled as the two red-eyed, fanged monsters came closer.

Pynzlee nearly fainted, but luckily Austin caught her. Coming to my senses, I quickly took off my crescent moon necklace, and it immediately changed into a silver bow and arrows.

Hayden stared at me in shock "Arabella, how did you do that?"

"I have _no_ idea!" I said to him, getting into a hunting position. I knew I would never hit it; I had never shot a bow before. But for some reason I took aim and let the arrow fly.

And believe it or not, it actually met its target! To my amazement, the arrow hit the dog right in the neck, and it exploded into black dust.

Meanwhile, Pynzlee had gotten over her fainting spell "Arabella, I never knew you took archery!" she exclaimed.

I looked at my bow in complete surprise "I don't. I - I never did."

We were interrupted by the other enormous dog, aware and angry, it charged toward us. I got ready to shoot another arrow, but it turned out not to be necessary. Those three weird kids who had been following us earlier, jumped seemingly out of nowhere, and faced the monster.

I was about to call out to them, when the Percy kid pulled out a bronze pen. What was he gonna do? Write on it? Scary. My doubts were answered when he uncapped it, and it lengthened…. into a three foot bronze sword? Wow, that was unexpected.

Annabeth unsheathed a shiny bronze knife from her belt, and the crutches kid (who apparently didn't need them after all, considering he didn't have them now) took out a pair of reed pipes, and began playing.

Percy jumped on top of the giant dog, and plunged his sword into it. Just like the other one, it immediately turned into a pile of black dust. All we could do was stare as Percy recapped his sword/pen thing, and Annabeth put her knife back in her belt.

As they walked over to us, I brought my bow closer to my chest, and it quickly changed back into a necklace. Feeling self-conscious, I turned toward my friends and Austin.

Dazed, Hayden looked at me "I don't know who was cooler, you, or them."

"Excuse me." Pynzlee said to the approaching kids "Uh, what just happened here?"

Austin grabbed Pynzlee's shoulder "Pynz what are you doing? They're stalking us remember?"

"All I want to know is what happened." Pynzlee hissed, pulling away.

"Fine, but let _me_ ask the questions." Austin said. "What just happened here?"

"That's what _she _said you idiot!" I whispered, as the kids stopped in front of us.

"Yeah, but he's a _cute _idiot." Pynzlee whispered back to me.

"We can't talk here." the blond girl told us, apparently ignoring our conversation "But we need you to come with us."

"Oh no, I know what you're doing." Hayden interrupted, stepping in front of us. "'If you're gonna take any of us, you're going to have to go through _me_!" he struck a karate pose "Be prepared to be intimidated by...The Haydenator!"

He made a bunch of slicing noises, followed by what looked like a display of fake karate moves.

"Please Hayden, spare us this embarrassment." I groaned, doing a face palm.

He stopped his karate chops "Hey my cousin taught me those moves! He's a black belt!"

Pynzlee sniggered. "A black belt in what? Moronic embarrassment?"

The three of us laughed, while the other kids stared at us in amusement.

"Uh, was that supposed to be scary?" The Percy kid asked.

"I thought it was pretty scary." Grover said with a little quiver in his voice.

Austin snorted. "Wimp."

"Annabeth," said Percy. "We really should be going. Grover senses something bad."

Austin looked confused. "Senses? What is he, a Jedi?" he asked.

Grover was about to correct him when Annabeth said, "We can get into arguments later, right now we just need you to come with us."

I glanced at the others, who all looked doubtful. But anyone who could bring something like that giant dog down and live to tell the tale was good enough for me.

I took a step toward them, and looked at Hayden, Pynzlee, and Austin "Come on guys, I'm pretty sure we can trust them."

They thought it over for a second. Then, Pynzlee joined us, followed by Austin and, finally, Hayden.

"Alright then." Percy said "Follow us."

And we walked out of the alley.

**Wow I'm on a roll this week!**

**Oh and if you want to see a sequel to this, go to my profile and vote on my new poll.**

**So you have 2 choices, either review, or vote! Pick one!**


	6. We Arrive at Camp Half Blood

**Happy 2011!**

**Here's the first chapter of 2011! **

**Before I start this chapter****,**** I want to thank a few people.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and added this story to the alerts and/or favourites list.**

**To Mary Penelope for being my beta reader for chapters 5, 6, and many other chapters to come.**

**And finally, to my sister Asumpta (aka; Awesomeasumpta) for coming up with Hayden's personality, and for helping me write this story whenever I got stuck.**

**I love you all!**

We walked to a park that was across the street from where we had been hiding. I looked around. For a park, it was pretty deserted; with the only exception was an old lady sitting on a faraway bench. Considering she was tossing bird seed to a couple of bushes, her vision couldn't have been all that great.

Percy turned to me and my friends. "We got your names," he said pointing to me, Hayden and Pynzlee. "You're Arabella, Hayden, and Pynzlee, right?"

"But we didn't get yours." Annabeth said to Austin before we could answer.

"The name's Austin. Archer." he told them, apparently trying to sound smooth.

I rolled my eyes; frankly I don't think they could've cared less about what his last name was.

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover all started talking to each other. "I know we were supposed to come get those three. But I don't remember Chiron saying anything about a fourth." Annabeth said.

Hayden looked interested "A fourth what?"

Austin seemed confused "Who's Chiron?" he asked.

They ignored us and continued conversing; "Chiron told us to get these three, he said it was urgent. But I don't think he said anything about the blond boy." Grover told them.

Austin raised his hand, trying to remind them of his presence. "'I can hear you."

"Well, I don't see why he can't come with us." Percy shrugged "He can share a Pegasus with somebody."

"A pega-_what?_" Pynzlee asked.

Percy turned toward us. "Well guys, it looks your friend Austin is coming with us."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Hayden waved his hands "Two things. First, we haven't even _agreed_ to go with you. Second; the fastest way out of the state is by airplane, and we're _miles_ away from the nearest Louisiana airport." he said, making sense probably for the first time in his life.

Percy shook his head. "Oh, we're not taking an airplane. Flying in one is too risky for me." He gave a sharp whistle.

We were covered by the shadow of four bird-like creatures. As they landed, I realized they weren't really birds, but horses with wings.

"Come on." he told us, mounting a black Pegasus. Annabeth climbed on behind Percy, while Austin and Pynzlee mounted a white Pegasus, only vice versa.

"I think I should drive." Austin told Pynzlee.

"No way." Pynzlee snorted.

Grover attempted to climb onto another white Pegasus, and Hayden mounted the fourth. I walked over to Hayden's Pegasus and pulled myself up behind him. Grover finally succeeded in mounting his Pegasus, and Percy soared into the air.

After we got used to being in the sky, Hayden immediately began to question Annabeth.

"So what exactly _did_ happen back there?" he asked.

"Hellhounds." she answered "They must've smelled you guys, what with there being four of you and all."

"What exactly do you mean by _smelled_?" he said "Because I _swear _I showered this morning."

"That's the complicated part." she told him hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" asked Pynzlee this time.

"Well most of you have been diagnosed with dyslexia and/or ADHD right?"

All four of us nodded.

"And I'm guessing you live with one parent, and know nothing about your other parent?"

"Well _I _live with my uncle Jim." Pynzlee told her.

"And have you guys ever had weird stuff happen, like being followed by strange people? Besides us." she said just as Hayden was about to say something.

"Well yeah." Pynzlee admitted "But what does that have to do with why you've been following us today?"

"Because," Percy spoke up "We're supposed to take you to a safe place, the only safe place for kids like us."

I frowned "What do you mean?"

"You guys are half-bloods." he told us, as if it were no big deal.

We all stared at them. Then Pynzlee piped up "Uh, we're what?"

"Half-bloods." Annabeth said simply.

We all broke into protests about how crazy who was or this was, and about who belonged in asylum.

They didn't answer; they just looked at us expectantly. We all got silent again, thinking about it.

I mean, it made sense, but it was just so hard to believe. Half-bloods?

Austin broke the silence "Yeah, but what exactly_ is_ a half-blood?" he asked accusingly.

"You guys know about Greek myths?" Annabeth said.

Pynzlee's hand shot up "Ooh, pick me!" she exclaimed.

Percy rolled his eyes "Yes Pynzlee?"

"Ooh, I _love_ Greek mythology! That's why I always get A's in History." she stated proudly.

"Well I doubt you're as knowledgeable about myths as Annabeth." he laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Pynzlee asked, folding her arms.

"That still doesn't answer my question!" Austin pointed out impatiently.

"Cool it." Annabeth told him "A half-blood is a half human, half god."

"Wait!" Hayden said "So you're saying that each of us is half _god_?"

Annabeth nodded.

Hayden was silent. That was strange, normally he never stopped talking. With a pang of understanding, I realized how overwhelming this must be for him, for all of us actually.

"I just have one more question." I said.

"Yeah?" Percy asked.

"When are we going to land?"

He smiled "Right now." and with that he began to descend toward what looked like a boot camp.

We all followed his lead, and before long we landed in a very busy looking area.

I wanted to have a better look around but Grover began to usher us toward a farm house, which Percy and Annabeth kept referring to as 'The Big House'.

"Chiron we're back!" Annabeth called, opening the door.

I looked inside, and saw four people playing some sort of card game.

There was a frizzy red-headed girl wearing black robes, a boy with dark curly hair wearing a purple basketball jersey with a white shirt underneath, and red framed sunglasses, a man with brown hair and beard sitting in a wheelchair, and another man with dark curly hair wearing a leopard pattern shirt and purple shorts.

The frizzy red-headed girl looked up and smiled "Oh finally! What took you guys so long?"

We were pushed inside the building by Grover, rather reluctantly in Hayden and Austin's case.

Once inside, Hayden leaned over toward me "Who are these weirdos?" he murmured.

The red headed girl stood up and bounced over to Hayden. She took his hand shook it. "Hi. I'm Rachel Elizabeth Dare, your fellow weirdo." she introduced herself, pumping his hand up and down.

"Uh, hi?" Hayden said, looking extremely surprised.

"Didn't think anyone could hear you, huh Hayden?" I said, stifling a laugh.

He let go of Rachel's hand. "It's official, this a weirdo camp. I'm outta here." he turned to go.

Annabeth grabbed the back of his shirt to keep him from leaving "Not so fast Hayden."

He looked at Annabeth, eyes narrowed. "Since when are we on a first name basis?" he accused.

The kid in the basketball jersey lifted his sunglasses "Well now that you know Rachel; I'm Derek, and I'm not a weirdo."

Rachel giggled. "Are you sure about that?"

Derek shot her an angry look. "_Yes_!" he snapped.

The guy in the wheel chair wheeled over to us. "Calm down Derek." he said. "Well done Annabeth, you managed to escort all three demi-gods to camp?"

"Well," Annabeth hesitated, "four, actually." she said, putting up four fingers.

He raised an eyebrow. "And who may the fourth be?"

Everyone stared at Austin, who started to look uncomfortable "Why is everyone looking at me?" he pointed to Grover "Why not the Jedi?"

Hayden started laughing so hard he fell onto the floor; Pynzlee started staring at Grover who mouthed "I'm not a Jedi."

Chiron ignored this scenario. "And what is your name, young man?"

"Austin Archer." he said nervously.

Chiron turned to my friends and me. "And you three are Arabella DeLuna, Hayden Roberts, and Pynzlee Wood?"

We all nodded rather uncomfortably.

"How do you know our names?" Hayden practically yelled.

Pynzlee turned to me and Hayden "I _told_ you guys we were being stalked!"

Hayden turned to me "Yeah, how _else_ would they know our names? And you wanted us to _trust_ these people?"

Before anyone could react, Pynzlee glared accusingly at Chiron. "How long has this been going on?" she demanded.

Chiron didn't get a chance to answer; Pynzlee shook her head. "Never mind. I don't want to know!"

"Let's get out of here before something else _weird_ attacks us, like earlier!" Hayden agreed

Pynzlee and Hayden ran out the Big House door.

"Shouldn't somebody stop them?" asked Rachel.

Austin turned to Grover "You're a Jedi, use the force."

"But I'm not-" he began, before the guy in the leopard pattern shirt turned to Rachel and said "They won't get far."

There was a sudden loud yelp outside, followed by the sound of scuffling, as if there was a fight going on. I looked outside to see Hayden and Pynzlee being dragged in by their ankles, by what looked like grape vines, sprouting from underneath the ground.

"Hayden, _do_ something!" Pynzlee cried.

"I can't, I don't have my switch blade!" he called back, as they were dragged closer to the door.

"Great. The _one _time you don't have your switch blade." Pynzlee commented.

The vines pulled them inside with one last tug, before unwrapping themselves from their ankles.

"You could have used it to defend us against these stalkers." she muttered angrily, dusting herself off. "All right, who did that?"

The guy in the leopard patterned shirt shrugged. "No use leaving without permission."

"Fine." Pynzlee grumbled. "Can we leave?"

"No." he said to her, shuffling the deck of cards.

Pynzlee let a loud cry of frustration "Aaaggh! First we're stalked, and now we're being held hostage? What's next? Being held for ransom? This is the worst day of my life!" she exclaimed, and began hyperventilating.

I put my hand on Pynzlee's shoulder. "Pynz, calm down, it's _okay_." I pulled out the paper bag I had used for lunch earlier and gave it to her. As her breath began to slow, I turned to Percy. "Can we hurry this up before she faints again?"

"What did Hayden mean by "weird things attacking earlier," Annabeth?" Chiron asked her.

Percy spoke. "They were attacked by hellhounds in an alley."

"I remember saying 'Annabeth,' but continue Percy." Chiron nodded.

"They were attacked by hellhounds in an alley, but by the time we got there, one was already dead."

Austin raised his hand. "Oh that was Arabella." he pointed.

"What do you mean boy?" Chiron asked Austin.

"I mean Arabella is the one who killed the other Hellhound." he said.

"What's a Hellhound?" Hayden idiotically asked.

Pynzlee faced palmed. "Obviously those big ugly things that attacked us Hayden."

Hayden thought a moment. "Yeah, that was probably it." he concluded.

Me, Pynzlee, and Austin groaned. "Seriously Hayden, do you _try_ to be stupid or does it just come naturally?" Austin said.

I turned to Austin. "Hey, you can't call him stupid! That's mine and Pynzlee's job!" I yelled.

"Oh yeah, well I'm a guy, so I can diss your guy friends whenever I want!" he scoffed, folding his arms.

"Yeah well...At least I don't bleach!" I countered.

Austin gasped. "You'd dare accuse me of such a thing?"

"Yeah, I dare!"

Austin started to turn red. "You don't have the right to insult me!"

"Insult?" I grinned. "I thought I was telling the truth."

Annabeth stepped between us. "All right you two, cut it out."

Still fuming, we did as she said and stepped away from each other.

Chiron wheeled over "Rachel, I'd like you and Derek to give these four a tour of camp. I need to have a word with Percy, Annabeth, and Grover." he said.

"Do I have to?" Derek whined. "I was winning!"

Rachel gave him a dangerous look.

"Fine." he sighed. He stood up walked over next to Rachel.

"Come on guys." Rachel said to us.

Derek pushed us out the door and onto the grass.

I sighed, and looked around. I hoped this camp had a hospital full of straightjackets, because after all this, I was going to need one.

**Yeah I know, it wasn't as exciting as you probably hoped it would be. But don't despair, there is more to come!**


	7. A Tour of Camp Half Blood

**Hey readers! I'm really sorry I didn't update sooner, it's been a really crazy 2 weeks for me.**

**First there was the shooting of our Congress woman Gabrielle Giffords.**

_***moment of silence***_

**And then, what do you know, my computer crashes on the same day.**

**Enough with negative thoughts, and let's get on with the show!**

**Disclaimer: I really wish we didn't have to do this. I don't own PJATO. There. I hope the creators of this stupid policy are happy now.**

_**Relief: A relief is a sculptured artwork where a modeled form is raised.**_

.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:Relief+sculpture&sa=X&ei=-FQ6Tb-bL43ksQOXhfWpAw&sqi=2&ved=0CBoQkAE&safe=active

"Do we have to take this tour?" Hayden grumbled. "Because I think we all know I'm going to leave the first chance I get."

"You don't really have a choice." Derek told Hayden. "You have to ask Chiron or Mr. D for permission to leave camp, and chances are they're going to say no."

"What?" Hayden asked in disbelief. "That's not fair!" he exclaimed angrily.

"Believe me," Derek sighed. "I know how you feel. I've been asking for Chiron's permission for the past 5 months."

"Is this place really that bad?" I asked him.

"Nah." He replied "It's actually pretty cool. It's my dad I'm getting sick of."

"Who's your dad?" asked Pynzlee.

"Dionysus. Zeus sent him here as camp director for 50 years, to punish him for chasing an off limits wood nymph." He rolled his eyes "But that apparently didn't stop him from hooking up with a supermodel and having another demi-god kid." Derek gestured to himself "And now what better things does he have to do all day than boss me around? He never makes Pollux do anything."

"Which supermodel?" Hayden asked.

"Sonia Kowalski." Derek stated.

"Whoa." Austin gaped "Your mom is the most famous runway model in New York?"

"Guys," Rachel interrupted "We have a tour to do remember?"

They led us to a strawberry field, where kids who looked a lot like Grover were playing reed pipes. I looked again and realized they weren't kids. From the waist down they had furry bodies and hoofs instead of feet. They all had curly hair, most of them had horns (some bigger than others).

"What are they?" I asked, completely amazed.

"Satyrs." Derek answered.

"What are they doing?" asked Austin, staring at the satyrs reed pipes.

"Nature magic." Rachel told us "Helps the strawberries grow faster."

"The faster they grow the more we sell." Derek said, trying to untangle a vine that had started to wind around his ankle "The profit pays our expenses for food and toiletries."

"Come on." Rachel said, leading us away "There's still plenty of more stuff to see."

They walked us everywhere around camp, from the archery range to the lava climbing wall. I had to admit, this place was pretty impressive. There was Canoe Lake, a javelin range, stables, an amphitheater, an arena for sword fights and chariot races, and a whole forest stocked with blood thirsty monsters!

"And these are the camper cabins." Derek said, pointing to an area full of buildings in the shape of a large Greek omega.

Looking over toward the cabins, my eyes widened. Each cabin was totally different than the one next to it. No two cabins were alike. It was… it was… mind boggling.

"The first 13 are the cabins of the major gods. Derek continued "And the rest are for children of the minor gods."

Rachel laughed when she saw the look on my face "Do you want to see a few up close?"

"Sure." I said, trying not to sound too excited.

They led us to a cabin with a roof made of grass with tomato vines growing on the walls. The window sills were decked with all sorts of flowers and plants, and had butterflies and hummingbirds flying around. Above the doorway was a large brass number 4.

Rachel knocked and the door was immediately opened by a tall girl in an orange t-shirt with the words 'Camp Half Blood' on it. She had black hair in a braid that went halfway down her back and wheat colored eyes.

"Hi Rachel." She said, smiling "We were just about to go down to the Canoe Lake, wanna come with us?"

"Thanks Dana." Rachel replied "But I'm going to have to take a rain check. I'm giving a tour." She gestured to me, Hayden, Pynzlee, and Austin.

Dana nodded "I understand." She turned to us "Welcome to Camp Half Blood! This is the Demeter cabin." She said, stepping aside.

I peered inside the cabin door.

There were several bunk beds renovated to hold three at a time, and at least a dozen or so kids who all had black hair like Dana. But unlike Dana, they all had brown eyes.

Suddenly Dana pulled out a silver whistle and blew it. Loud.

We all covered our ears, a little too late. I could feel the vibrations pierce my eardrums.

"Alright campers!" she said to the kids in the cabin "Line up and let's head down to the Canoe Lake!"

Everyone scuffled and ran to their position as Dana led them down to the lake.

"What was that about?" I asked, uncovering my damaged ears.

"Dana is taking over as senior counselor until Katie Gardiner gets back from her quest." Derek answered.

"Now." Pondered Rachel "Which cabin should I show you next?"

I looked around and spotted a building just two cabins down.

"What about that one?" I asked, and pointed to the cabin.

Rachel turned in the direction I was pointing. She bit her lip "Are you sure Arabella?"

I nodded. "Positive."

"Okay then." She said, giving in "Come on guys."

She stepped in front of the door "Cabin number 8." Rachel stated.

"Out of three empty ones." Derek said.

"Empty?" I asked. But I wasn't paying attention. I was absorbed in the hard work and detail put into the cabin. The walls were one big relief that showed scenes of girls running with bows in their hands and quivers on their backs, shooting arrows at terrifying beasts. At the center of them all was a young girl with a serious expression. Even as a carving she radiated power and grace.

"This is the Artemis cabin." Rachel said, interrupting my thoughts.

"Huh?" I asked, coming back to reality.

"You asked why it was empty." Rachel reminded me.

"But if Artemis doesn't have any kids, why does she have a cabin?" asked Hayden.

"It's an honorary thing." Derek said "If she didn't have a cabin she'd be mad, and you _do not_ want a god for an enemy."

"So no one ever stays in here?" I asked, saddened by the thought that the cabin should go to waste.

"Well-"Derek began.

He was interrupted by Chiron, who appeared to be riding on a horse. Wait a second. He wasn't _riding _the horse, he _was_ the horse. From the waist down he was a white stallion. This day just kept getting weirder and weirder.

Austin was hysterical "But he… you… the wheel chair… how?"

"You're a centaur?" Hayden asked, looking excited "That's so cool!"

"Chiron… Chiron?" I murmured, probing my brain. Then it came to me "You're Chiron from the stories!"

"Well duh." Derek scoffed.

Pynzlee turned to Rachel "If he's a half blood." She pointed to Derek "And he's a centaur." She gestured to Chiron "Then what are you?"

I thought calling someone a 'what' seemed pretty rude, but Rachel didn't appear offended "I'm the oracle, you know, prophecy teller and all that jazz?"

Okay, why not? Even with that statement, she still wasn't the weirdest one here.

"Everything has been settled." Chiron said "After dinner, you four will be moved to cabin eleven."

"Why cabin eleven?" I asked.

"That's the Hermes cabin." Rachel said "With him being the god of travelers, every newcomer stays in cabin eleven until their godly parent claims them."

"How long will that take?" asked Hayden.

Rachel shrugged "It varies. But ever since the titan war last summer, most demi-gods are claimed within the first 48 hours of arrival."

All of a sudden I heard the hum of a conch shell

"Oh finally." Derek said "I'm starving."

"Where are we going?" asked Austin.

"To dinner." Rachel replied.

They led us to a white pavilion with Greek columns but no roof.

"What do you do when it rains?" I asked her.

"It never rains unless we want it to, so we don't really have to worry about it."

I could see members of the other cabins approaching the pavilion. As they arrived each group sat at a different table.

We didn't know where to sit, so we stood next to Rachel and Chiron. Derek excused himself and sat down at a table with a blond boy and a few satyrs.

Chiron cleared his throat and clopped his hoof. Everyone quieted down.

"A few announcements." He said "First of all, we have four new campers; Arabella De Luna, Hayden Roberts, Pynzlee Wood, and Austin Archer."

Everyone clapped their hands as Chiron introduced us.

"Second. Capture the flag will be next Friday."

Everyone cheered and clapped even louder.

Rachel turned to us "You guys can sit at the Hermes table."

"Where's that" I asked her.

"Over here!" a boy said, waving his hand in the air.

We were about to head over there, when everyone gasped.

I turned to Pynzlee to ask what everyone was staring at, when I saw a holographic image of a green trident floating above her head.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing to the image.

"The symbol of Poseidon…." Percy said, standing next to me.

"My father is Poseidon?" Pynzlee asked, looking intently at the trident, as if it might change form. "That's so awesome!" she exclaimed, pumping her fists in the air.

Everyone stared at her.

"Oh." Pynzlee said, looking embarrassed "Uh, I'm honored."

Percy laughed "Come on, you sit at my table."

Feeling slightly lonely, I sat down at the Hermes table.

The kid who had raised his hand earlier introduced himself "Hi. I'm Travis Stoll."

"Stoll?" I asked, trying not to laugh.

He was about to answer, when girls with elfish features set plates of food in front of us.

I grabbed a piece of chicken, a baked potato, and a biscuit. I looked at my empty glass, and then at Travis "What are we supposed to drink?" I asked him.

"Whatever you want." He replied "Just tell the glass."

I thought a moment. "Pink Lemonade." I decided. The glass filled with a clear pink liquid. I took a sip. Amazing.

I was about to take a bite of baked potato, when I saw everyone standing up and walking to the bronze braziers that had been set around the pavilion.

Everyone was putting part of their meal into the flames. I grabbed my plate and stood in line behind Travis.

"What are we supposed to do?" I asked him.

"Sacrifice to the gods." He answered, and threw in half of his sandwich "Hermes." He said.

I dropped my biscuit into the fire "Mom." I whispered "_Please_ tell me who you are."

Feeling glum, I sat back down at the Hermes table.

As soon as dinner was over, Travis introduced me to his brother Conner. Then he and Conner led me, Hayden, Austin, and the rest of their siblings to cabin eleven. Pynzlee told me she was staying with Percy in cabin three.

There were a couple of empty beds, so I chose one of the bottom bunks underneath a girl named Agatha.

My first day at camp was exhausting, I didn't even stop to get ready for bed, and I just pulled the covers over my head and went to sleep.

It was one of the scariest nights I ever had. It was the night I had my first demi-god dream.


	8. Everyone Gets Claimed but Me

**Hey readers! Well here it is, chapter 8!**

In my dream I was crouching outside a cave. Judging by the San Francisco skyline glittering in the distance, I was on Mount Diablo.

Hidden in the shadows, I listened. Inside the cave I could hear two people talking.

One was a woman, who whispered as if she were talking in her sleep. The other was a man. His voice was smug, aggressive, and loud, as if he was trying to whisper but his voice wouldn't allow him to.

"She is aware of what she is." The woman whispered "All we need now is the sign."

"And then?" The man grunted.

"We wait. It won't take long; her feelings will get the best of her." The woman replied.

"What if she doesn't agree to our request?" The man asked, still sounding smug.

"She will." The woman answered, sounding pleased "The gods have put the pawn in our favor. She won't be able to resist."

The scene melted into another scene. I looked around, and realized I was in my

own living room. I felt a chill and heard a voice start to chant what sounded like a spell.

_The binding of bloods at this here rite,_

_Shall be the beginning of a new human being._

_Half-god half-man, the girl shall be,_

_With powers of the greatest, she shall defeat._

_Now my gorgeous moon orchid,_

_Close together at last,_

_Until nine months' time,_

_A baby shall pass._

_But listen until then,_

_You must be kept safe,_

_And open up to bring a new being._

I looked around frantically to see where the voice was coming from. I covered my ears as the voice started to repeat the spell. I did everything I could to block my hearing, but no matter what I did; I could still hear the words ringing inside my skull.

With each repetitive chant, the voice got louder and more urgent. With the last verse I screamed with fear and frustration. And suddenly I was back in the Hermes cabin, with Hayden shaking me back and forth.

"Arabella! Wake up!" He exclaimed, sounding worried.

"I'm up, I'm up!" I gasped sitting up in the bunk.

"Are you okay?" Travis asked, standing next to Hayden.

"Yeah." I lied "Why wouldn't I be?"

Conner frowned "You were screaming in your sleep, and yelling "Make it stop! Leave me alone!"

I sighed with vexation "I'm fine. It's nothing." I climbed out of the bunk "When's breakfast?"

"Soon." Agatha told me, coming down from the upper bunk.

"Here are some new clothes." Conner said, handing me an orange camp T-shirt and a pair of jeans.

As soon as we were all ready, we headed down to the pavilion for breakfast.

After we sacrificed to the gods, I sat back down at the Hermes table between Austin and Hayden. I grabbed three pancakes, two sausages, and a pat of butter. "2% milk." I told my glass. "So what do we do after this?" I asked Travis, spooning some granulated sugar on my pancakes.

"We usually do sword fighting first." He answered "But you guys are new, so you're going to have to pick a weapon first. Then you try out some of the other activities."

I touched my crescent moon necklace. I wanted to tell him I already had a weapon, but I was afraid to draw any more attention to myself.

"Wha' kin' o' weapon?" Hayden asked with his mouth full.

"For crying out loud Hayden, would it kill you to swallow first?" Austin asked, rolling his eyes.

Hayden chewed a few more times, and then swallowed "Happy?" he asked Austin.

"Relatively." Austin replied.

After breakfast, the Stoll brothers led us to the weapon shed.

"The first thing to do when choosing a weapon, is make sure it suits you." Conner said.

He opened the door to the shed and handed Hayden a sword.

Hayden swung it a few times, nearly decapitating Austin.

"Definitely not." We said in unison.

"Try this." Travis said grabbing a spear with a winding snake painted on the handle.

"Are you sure this is a safe idea?" I asked them, looking skeptically at Hayden.

"Only one way to find out." Conner said.

As quick as lightning he pulled out a sword and swung the blade. I don't know how he did it, but Hayden blocked the attack with the handle of his spear.

Conner sliced, while Hayden dodged and thrust the point of his spear, catching Conner by surprise as Hayden held the tip of the spear at his throat.

Hayden lowered his weapon and stared at it "S-Sorry." He told him.

Conner rubbed his neck. "It's okay."

"You can keep the spear." Travis said to Hayden.

"Let's move on." Conner said "Arabella what kind of weapon did you have in mind?"

I looked inside the shed, there didn't seem to be any bows. I know I had shot a bow only once before, but it had just felt so right and I wanted to give it another shot (no pun intended).

"Well I'd like to try a bow and arrow." I told them.

Travis nodded "Okay then, we'll try the archery range."

Over at the archery range were three kids with blond hair and light blue eyes.

"This is Laura, Thomas, and Gilbert from the Apollo cabin." Travis said, introducing us to them.

"Hi." Laura said "Come to try your luck?"

I nodded.

"Alright. Here take one of the extras." She handed me a golden bow.

I took a deep breath, drew the bow, notched the arrow, took my stance, out of anxiousness I closed my eyes and let the arrow go.

"Whoa!" someone said.

My eyes flew open. I was afraid I had skewered somebody, but instead I saw that the arrow had hit the target, dead center.

"Wow." Laura marveled "I've never seen even a pro get it that straight in the first shot."

"Beginners luck?" Austin asked hopefully.

I shot him a 'you-better-shut-it' look.

"No way." Thomas said "That was way too good to be beginners luck."

"Can I try?" Austin asked.

"Sure." Thomas said, and handed him an extra bow.

As far as I knew, Austin had never shot a bow before in his life, but he took the bow and notched the arrow. When he shot the arrow, it landed slightly off center, but still I was impressed.

"I see we're going to have to find both of you a suitable bow." Laura commented "What do you think Conner?" no one answered, she turned around "Conner? Travis?"

I looked around, Hayden and the Stoll brothers were nowhere in sight.

"Well." Laura said "I guess we'll take over from here. Thomas takes Austin to try out some of the activities, while I take Arabella."

Thomas nodded "Come on." He said to Austin, and they both walked away.

"Gilbert, you tell Will where we are and continue with the regular schedule."

Gilbert saluted her and ran toward a cabin made of what looked to be solid gold.

Laura turned to me "First; which one of your parents is mortal?"

"Well my dad is a farmer." I said, slightly surprised at the question.

"So the Olympian is probably your mom. That gives us several possibilities."

"Like what?" I asked her.

"Well there are the major goddesses like Demeter, Athena, and Aphrodite." She told me. "And then there are quite a few minor goddesses like Nike, Iris, Tyche, Mnemosyne, Hecate, Eris, Hebe, and Nemesis."

"That's a lot." I said nervously "How long is it going to take us to get through them all?"

"Oh, about two or three days." She answered "So I suggest we get started."

All day Laura made me do different activities with the children from the female cabins, trying to find out who my mom could be. Demeter? Forget it. I couldn't grow a plant to save my life. Athena? Well I was pretty good at strategizing, but I wasn't too good with any other weapon other than a bow and arrow. I was horrified at the thought of being an Aphrodite kid, especially after meeting Drew. I mean, talk about being a snob.

I kept up pretty well with the kids in the Nike cabin, but they told me I was a little too competitive. After playing a game with the former I sat down on the hill to take a rest. Laura sat down next to me and took out a harmonica to pass the time.

After listening to Harmonica music for about five minutes, Pynzlee came over with her apparent half-brother Percy.

"Hey Ara." She said, grinning "What are you doing?"

"Taking a break. What are you doing?"

"Percy's teaching me to sword fight!" she said, practically bouncing with excitement.

"She's pretty good at it." Percy told me "We just need to find her a more balanced weapon."

Suddenly Chiron came galloping over "So Percy," he began "how is Pynzlee doing?"

"Great." He stated confidently.

Just then, Hayden and the Stoll brothers came running up with rolls of toilet paper in their hands.

"Where have you two been?" Laura asked.

"Uh, nowhere." Travis said.

"What's with the toilet paper?" I asked.

Hayden was about to answer, when he was immersed in a greenish glow.

I looked above his head and gasped "What's that?"

"It looks like one of those Caduceus things." Pynzlee said.

"That's the sign of Hermes." Laura told him.

"Sweet." The Stoll brothers said, giving each other a high five.

"Cool!" Hayden said, he turned to Travis and Conner "Wanna go TP another cabin to celebrate?"

"You TPed a cabin?" I asked "Which one?"

"Hey!" said a huge girl in a red shirt "There's the punks that TPed our cabin!"

"Get em'!" a boy shouted.

"You decorated the Ares cabin with toilet paper?" Laura asked them.

"Yeah, and I'm starting to think it wasn't the best idea either." Hayden said.

"Run!" Conner yelled, and he, Travis, and Hayden fled.

"I have a feeling we're going to have our hands full with those three." Chiron said, sounding a cross between being amused and being exasperated.

We all laughed at that. But Hayden being claimed just made me more depressed.

At least he wouldn't be moving to another cabin.

Just then I heard the sound of a conch shell. Time for dinner.

In difference to yesterday, me, Percy, Pynzlee, and Laura ran to the pavilion.

After dinner Travis and Conner took me and the rest of the cabin to the campfire.

We all sang really cheesy songs and danced really embarrassing dances. It was great. I was beginning to regret missing it last night. The more we sang the faster the camp fire changed color, until it roared with warmth, the bright red and golden flames flickering in the night.

When we all settled down a little bit Chiron allowed us to sit next to our friends from the other cabins. I sat next between Pynzlee and Hayden, with Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Austin sitting next to us.

Grover had his reed pipes in a sort of belt at his waist. Austin saw them "Hey can I try those?" he said pointing.

Grover looked surprised, but he took the reed pipes off his belt and handed them to Austin "Sure. But it takes years of practice to-"

Austin had launched into a tune of the song 'Just the way you are' by Bruno Mars, before Grover had even finished his sentence.

Before I could comment on Austin's music skills there was a burst of golden light. When the light softened, I was able to see the symbol in the shape of a string instrument floating above Austin's head.

During that time, Austin had stopped playing the reed pipes and was staring accusingly at everyone "What is everybody staring at?"

"That." Pynzlee said, pointing to the symbol floating above his head.

He looked up "What does it mean?" he gasped.

"It's a lyre." Rachel answered "The sacred instrument of Apollo."

"Apollo?" He asked, still staring in awe at the symbol.

"God of music, light, and reason." Thomas said.

Austin was absolutely speechless as Will Solace and Laura Buschmann led him and their other siblings to the Apollo cabin.

Feeling lonelier I followed Travis, Conner, and Hayden back to the Hermes cabin.

After I had gotten ready for bed and everybody called lights out, I lay wide awake in the bunk.

I may not have liked Austin, but loosing another familiar face made me sad. I also felt a surge of tension and anxiety, my friends and Austin had been claimed, when was it going to happen to me?

**PLEASE review and/or vote on my poll!**

**The little review button is right down there, and the poll is on my profile.**


	9. We Almost Capture the Flag

**Hey readers! Here is chapter 9!**

**luna lovegood rwjh: Yeah, the reason I didn't do that because I wanted it to be a special case for Arabella, if I did it too many times it would get old.**

**Gelphie Wicked: By add do you mean update?**

**And it's time for everyone's favorite demi-god game… **

_***Drum roll***_

**Capture the Flag!**

Over the next few days, Laura continued to make me participate in activities with the other cabins, and it was driving me crazy.

I didn't have good luck like the children of Tyche. I couldn't do anything with a rainbow, so Iris was out. I wasn't able to summon magic like Hecate, or preserve youth like Hebe. I didn't have a good memory like Mnemosyne; and I didn't purposely make people's lives miserable like the Eris cabin. I was pretty skeptic about being a child of Nemesis; they held too many grudges for my taste.

"It's okay." Laura told me "You're probably a child of Aphrodite, or maybe even Hermes, don't worry about it.

"Yeah _that _makes me feel better." I had mumbled sarcastically.

I sat down on the hill overlooking the Long Island Sound, watching the clouds turn from white to purple, pink, and orange, as the sun sank lower in the sky.

I sighed and put my head in my hands.

"What's wrong?" someone asked me.

I looked up and saw Pynzlee standing over me.

"Hey Pynz." I said gloomily.

She sat down next to me and wrapped her arms around her legs "So what's troubling you so much that you're sitting here by yourself watching the sun set?"

I took a deep breath "I don't feel like I belong in any of the cabins that people expect me to be."

Pynzlee frowned "That's it?"

"No." I said "It makes me feel different, like there's something about me that everyone is missing. A crucial detail that could give me a clue about who my mom is."

"Well whatever happens, just remember that I'm your friend, and friends stick together." Pynzlee said.

I smiled at her "Thanks Pynz."

"Now come on." She replied, standing up "It's almost time for the campfire."

That night at the campfire, Chiron announced that capture the flag would be held tomorrow afternoon. It sounded like a pretty exciting game; I hardly slept out of pure excitement.

The next day we all marched down to the forest with our team, led by the Athena cabin, along with Hecate, Morpheus, Hebe, Hephaestus, Eris, Aphrodite, and Nemesis.

The opposing team was led by the children of Nike, who had made alliances with the Apollo, Poseidon, Hypnos, Dionysus, Ares, Demeter, Iris, Tyche, and Mnemosyne cabins.

Chiron cleared his throat "Heroes!" he said, getting all our attention "Remember; the creek bed is the limit, and no maiming or killing is allowed." He looked at the Ares campers "That includes you Martin."

"Oh man!" Martin groaned.

Annabeth blew a whistle and we gathered for a team huddle.

"Here's the plan." Annabeth said to us "Eris, Morpheus, Hephaestus, and the rest of my cabin will capture the other team's flag, while Hebe, Hermes, and half of the Aphrodite cabin distracts them. The other half will guard our flag with Nemesis, Hecate, and Arabella."

"Me?" I asked in surprise.

The huddle broke before I got an answer As soon as Chiron gave the starting signal, everyone on offense ran toward the enemy base.

"We should all hide until the other team comes to capture our flag." Benjamin from the Nemesis cabin suggested "That way we'll have the element of surprise."

We all agreed and took a place in the bushes, waiting for the other team's arrival.

They didn't disappoint, soon after we hid, kids from the Apollo, Poseidon, and Dionysus cabins sneaked up to our base.

"This is weird." Said one of the girls from Apollo. "Isn't there supposed to be someone guarding it?"

"Who cares?" Derek said "This is the easiest game of capture the flag ever."

Pynzlee bit her lip and narrowed her eyes "It's almost too easy." She stated suspiciously.

With those words, we all jumped out of our hiding places and faced the opposing team.

I pulled out my bow and notched an arrow. I took aim, nailing one Apollo kid to a tree by the sleeve of his shirt.

"Hey!" he yelped, trying to tug himself free. But he couldn't pull the arrow out; it was buried too deep in the bark.

Thankfully, there was no dryad living in the tree, or I would have been in trouble big-time.

I laughed at him, and grabbed another arrow from my quiver.

This time I aimed at Derek, who was fighting against Hayden. I shot him in the toe of the left shoe; it didn't hurt him (It hadn't gone in far enough) but it sure surprised him.

Hayden took advantage of the distraction, and knocked the sword out of Derek's hand with his spear.

I pulled out another arrow and fired a warning shot at a kid battling Annabeth. As it whizzed by his ear, he turned around, giving Annabeth the opportunity to escape with the other team's flag.

Meanwhile, Pynzlee had made off with _our_ flag, and was nearly at the Nike cabin's base when a giant scorpion emerged from the woods.

It was at least 15 feet long, with its hideous mottled purple color, giant pincers, and stinger dripping with orange venom; it paralyzed half the campers just by hissing at them.

"What is that thing?" someone yelled.

The scorpion ignored the other campers, pincers snapping, it charged Pynzlee.

Screaming with terror, Pynzlee dropped the flag and ran.

Panicking, I threw my makeshift bow and arrows aside, and took off my crescent moon necklace...

I heard people gasp as it changed into a silver bow and arrows.

I drew my bow, took my stance, aimed, and fired quicker than you could say 'Archery'.

The arrow hit just as the scorpion pinned Pynzlee against the ground.

With a hiss of pain, it exploded into white dust.

The game forgotten, everyone stared at me as if I had just erupted in flames.

"What?" I asked them anxiously.

Annabeth, looking totally astonished pointed to something above my head.

I looked up and saw a silvery holographic image of a crescent moon casting moonlit glow upon me.

Unmoving, the entire camp just stared, until Chiron came forward and kneeled. Everyone, still looking stunned, followed his example.

"Hail Arabella De Luna." He announced grimly "Daughter of Artemis, goddess of the hunt, maiden of the moon."

**Remember to Read and Review or to vote on my poll.**

**And (just a heads up) the next two chapters are going to be short, so don't give yourself a heart attack, there are longer ones coming.**


	10. Is My Claiming a Good or Bad Thing?

**Hello readers, I'm sorry I didn't update sooner, but hopefully this chapter makes up for it. And don't worry; chapter 11 is on the way!**

**I know I said that the next two chapters were going to be short, but that was before I redid the beginning of the chapter, which used to be something entirely different. WARNING! The next chapter has spoilers for The Lost Hero in it, so if you haven't read TLH yet, it might be a little confusing.**

Over the next few days, everybody avoided me like they would a vat of toxic waste.

Even Hayden and Pynzlee were acting weird. I still talked to them, but whenever I did, they always had this awed; stunned expression on their faces; like they were still thinking _Wow, Arabella is the daughter of Artemis! _Like they were at the capture the flag game several days ago. I was just as surprised as anyone, but come on guys, get over it already!

I even tried talking to Austin, but every insult I threw at him he ignored.

I still took archery training, but I couldn't enjoy it with Laura acting like I was an atomic bomb that might go off at any second.

A week later, I lay on my bed feeling lonely and depressed.

All of a sudden I heard a knock and the creak of the cabin door "Hey Arabella." Said Rachel's voice.

I sat up "Hey Rachel."

"Can I come in?" she asked.

"Sure why not, grab a seat." I answered.

She walked over and sat on the bunk across from me "So this is the Artemis cabin." She said, looking around "No one's ever actually been in here before"

"Don't remind me." I groaned.

Rachel laughed "Don't worry it gets better. Just ask Percy, he's the first child of Poseidon in 70 years."

"Yeah but Poseidon didn't vow to be an eternal maiden." I replied.

Rachel shrugged "Same basic concept."

"Look, I appreciate you trying to cheer me up, but so far it's not working." I resolved, lying back down on the bunk.

"Actually, I came to tell you that Chiron and Mr. D want to see you."

"Oh, goody." I sighed "Would you come with me? I don't think I can face them both by myself.

Rachel stood up "Sure." She started toward the door "Come on we shouldn't keep them waiting."

We walked to the Big House in anticipating silence. When we got to the door, I hesitated.

"Don't worry." Rachel told me "I'll be there the whole time."

"Easy for you to say." I said, and opened the door.

"-he doesn't hesitate to punish me as soon as I do something wrong, but after a week he still makes no move to punish Artemis?"

With an idea of what the previous conversation had been about, I loudly cleared my throat.

Turning around Chiron gestured for us to come in "Ah yes, thank you Rachel. Please sit down Arabella."

Stepping inside, I sat in a chair across from Mr. D.

"So what's this about?" I asked Chiron suspiciously.

"Just a little discussion, about your, _ahem, _origins." He said, rather uncomfortably.

I raised an eye brow at him "Not really that much of a mystery anymore is it?"

"Actually." Rachel piped up "I'm surprised it took everyone so long to notice. I mean, it was pretty obvious wasn't it?"

"I suppose, unless you knew what to look for as I did." Chiron answered.

"Wait." I said, surprised "You _knew_?"

Mr. D seemed intrigued as well "My dear centaur, are you saying that you knew this whole time and never bothered to mention it to anyone?"

If Chiron heard Mr. D's comment, he didn't show it. Pulling a rather large book down from one of the bookshelves, he set it on the table.

_**'Βίβλος από αρχαίος μαγικός', **_the cover read. '_Book of ancient magic' _Arabella translated.

"Of course." Rachel realized "Artemis is too stubborn to break any oath."

Outside came a crack of thunder and a flash of light.

"In a good way." Rachel called.

"So what exactly does this book have to do with me?" I asked them.

"It's a spell book." Rachel said "It contains magic dating back from ancient Greece, the golden age of the gods."

Rather doubtful, I flipped open the cover. _**Δημιουργία **_the title of the first section said. A shiver went down my spine, _Creation _it read.

"Tell me if any of those sound familiar to you." Chiron told me.

Flipping rather carelessly through the cracked and yellow pages, I skimmed the words until I froze in the middle of the section. A lasting chill went up my spine as I remembered my dream from two weeks ago.

_I looked around, and realized I was in my own living room. I felt a chill and heard a voice start to chant what sounded like a spell._

_The binding of bloods at this here rite,_

_Shall be the beginning of a new human being._

_Half-god half-man, the girl shall be,_

_With powers of the greatest, she shall defeat._

_Now my gorgeous moon orchid,_

_Close together at last,_

_Until nine months time,_

_A baby shall pass._

_But listen until then,_

_You must be kept safe,_

_And open up to bring a new being._

_I looked around frantically to see where the voice was coming from. I covered my ears as the voice started to repeat the spell. I did everything I could to block my hearing, but no matter what I did; I could still hear the words ringing inside my skull._

_With each repetitive chant, the voice got louder and more urgent. With the last verse I screamed with fear and frustration._

Flashing back to reality, I realized why this spell sounded so familiar to me "This is it." I said shakily.

Rachel grabbed the book and looked at the page, "Chiron look at this spell." She said in an awed tone.

Taking one glance at the page, Chiron nodded. "I suspected as much." He said.

His answer shocked me more than finding the spell "What? First I find out that you knew Artemis was my mother, and now I find out you didn't even bother to tell me?"

"The time wasn't right. You weren't ready to know." He answered calmly.

That threw me off the edge. "What's that supposed to mean?" I yelled.

I would have stormed out right then and there if Rachel hadn't interceded. "Calm down Arabella." she said, pushing me composedly back down into my seat. "It was the right thing to do. It is hard for one to know their fate, and we often create the problems we try to avoid by it."

"What does that have to do with fate?" I asked confusedly.

Mr. D scoffed. "Long story short, if he had told it to you a week ago, you would have run off in denial, and gotten yourself killed." He said in disgust.

It took all my energy not to tell him off, he may have been annoying, but he was still a god. And as Derek had said earlier, you _do not _want a god for an enemy.

Chiron nodded "Mr. D is right my dear, you do not know your power, it could have an impact on your chance for survival."

"Since no child of Artemis has existed before, we wouldn't know how the monsters of the outside world would react to you." Rachel agreed.

Great, now they were all ganging up on me. I turned to Rachel. "Thanks for the support Rachel." I said bitterly.

"There's no need to get mad at Rachel now, Arabella." Chiron said. "She's only telling you what's best."

Simmering with anger, I didn't respond. I knew he was right, but my pride kept me from admitting it, especially to a male. _Thanks for the added traits Mom. _I thought sarcastically. So far I had figured out that my mom was an eternal virgin who had brought me to life with magic, and now there was a possibility of every type of monster wanting to rip my throat out.

There was a mild awkward pause before Chiron spoke up. "Yes, well I suppose you're tired Arabella. You should go back to your cabin and gets some rest, and tomorrow we will see about finding you a quest."

I perked up slightly "A quest?" I asked casually, trying to hide my interest.

"I can think of no better way to test your abilities outside Camp Half-Blood." He said "But you will need a rather large group to help you, nothing like this has ever happened before, and we must be cautious."

"Sure." I answered, still rather annoyed at him. Bidding good night to Rachel, I left the big house and headed toward my cabin, which glowed silver in the moonlight.

Getting into my silver moon and star patterned white pajamas (they're soft and comfortable, so don't judge me) I climbed into my bunk and fell asleep.

**I know it's not much, but since I never knew **_**exactly **_**where I was going with this chapter, it made it hard to write it. At least I know what I'm doing with chapter 11, so it should come sooner. I've already started writing the second draft. Please leave Reviews or I shall have to unleash the hell hounds on you!**


	11. A Dream Woman Gives Me a Quest

**!Warning!: This chapter is dangerously short.**

**This is a dream sequence, and this chapter is a little bit of a plot spoiler for The Lost Hero, but it's subtle. So unless you've already read the book, you might not be able to guess who the mysterious dream woman is (actually you might not be able to tell even if you HAVE read it)**

**IF YOU KNOW WHO THE WOMAN IS, ****DO NOT** **SAY IT IN A REVIEW. SEND ME A PM. I DON'T WANT TO RUIN IT FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T READ TLH YET.**

**Oh and Hippolyta is pronounced (Hippo-lee-ta) and her "girdle" can also be called a belt or a sash (I'm going to go with belt though) because that's what it is in Greek mythology. But for some reason it's called a girdle.**

In my dream I was sitting on a ledge of Mount Diablo, basking in the light of the full moon, when I heard a whispering voice come from behind me.

"Come at last young hero?" it asked.

Alarmed, I turned around and saw a woman wrapped in a dark cloak with a thin veil covering her face. Her expression was sleepy, almost emotionless as she spoke.

"Who are you?" I demanded suspiciously.

"I am the mother of all mothers." She answered vaguely.

Okay… Whatever _that _meant. "What do you want?" I asked, still suspicious.

She smiled, sending chills up and down my body "I want nothing more than to help you live up to your full potential." She said innocently.

_What does she mean by that?_ I wondered.

"You want nothing more than to please Artemis, to prove that you're more than the mistake she thinks of you as. The daughter she never should have had." The woman answered in an all too knowing voice.

I felt a pang of anger and acceptance. I did want to show my mother I was worth it. To show the gods I wasn't a mistake on Artemis's part.

"I can help you." She whispered.

_Don't believe her!_ A voice in my head told me _she's just trying to manipulate you!_ "How?" I asked the woman bitterly. Besides, I doubted anything she had to offer was good enough for Artemis, the goddess was known to be hard to impress.

"I can give you a quest that would prove you to be one of the most efficient and powerful demigods ever." She smiled.

I thought about it for a moment. I felt myself eager to take whatever she offered me, and I realized exactly how desperate I was.

"I'm listening." I said, giving her my attention "What kind of quest is it?"

Grinning, as if she had expected my answer, she told me her plan "Fetch me the golden girdle of Hippolyta, queen of the warrior women, and you will win much glory and respect from even the gods themselves.

"The golden girdle of Hippolyta?" I said, surprised.

"The girdle of the Amazon queen holds an abundant source of powers." She answered "only a powerful demigod such as you could accomplish such a dangerous task."

My thoughts were clouded as I pondered that. Part of me thirsted for respect from the gods who thought so little of me. _Where did that come from? _The voice in my head asked me _This isn't you. You're better than some low revenge seeking schemer._ Something else took over me as that part of my resistance dissolved.

"I'll do it." I confirmed.

"Excellent." She said "Bring the girdle back here to Mount Diablo once you've acquired it and you will be well rewarded."

The dream started to waver as she said this. "Don not fail me young one." She whispered.

And then I was gone.

**Well there you go, now she has a quest! Sorry this chapter was short, but I already have chapter 12 done (and it's a long one) so that should be some consolation.**

**O_O ****_Review_**


	12. Mission Impossible

Forbidden Child; Chapter 12: Mission Impossible

I awoke with a start, the dream still fresh in my memory. A million questions flooded my mind. But the most urgent one; who _was_ that woman?

After thinking about it for a couple minutes, I shrugged it off, it wasn't important. The most important thing was that she had given me a quest, a chance to prove myself, and that was all I needed. One thing was for sure, getting the golden girdle of Hippolyta wasn't going to be easy. I would have to take Hayden and Pynzlee with me.

After breakfast I pulled my friends aside, while the other cabins left the dining pavilion.

"What's going on Arabella?" Hayden asked "Me and Pynzlee have to get to our morning activities."

"I have to tell you guys something important." I whispered "It'll only take a minute."

"Hey Pynzlee!" Percy called "Coming?"

"In a second!" Pynzlee called "I'll be right there, give me two seconds." She turned back to me "What's up Ara?"

I told them all about my dream and my new quest.

"The golden girdle of Hippolyta?" Pynzlee said, blinking with wonder "That's not going to be easy Arabella, the Amazons are really fierce."

"I know." I nodded "That's why I came to you guys."

"It's going to take all three of us." Hayden said, catching on to the idea.

"Shouldn't we tell Chiron?" Pynzlee asked nervously.

"Are you kidding Pynzlee?" Hayden snorted "If we told Chiron he'd never let us go and you know it!"

"Hayden's right for once." I told her "It has to be a secret."

"Alright." Pynzlee sighed "What time should we leave?"

"Tonight." I said "It'll be the easiest time to sneak away." I laid out the plan "Meet me behind the Big House at 9:00. Bring any clothes, food, money, or weapons you have. I'll have a ride waiting at the bottom of the hill. I explained.

They agreed and headed back to join their cabins.

Throughout the day I was preoccupied with planning our sneak out, so I wasn't really all that focused during my archery lesson. I nearly skewered Laura, as well as three other people.

"Are you okay today Arabella?" Laura asked "You seem kind of off."

"What? No I-I'm fine." I answered, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Well you just take a break and I'll see if Monique, Ray, and Shelly are all right."

"Right. Tell them I'm sorry I nearly shish kabobed them."

As Laura left, I took the time to plan how many arrows I'd need to make later. I had already packed most of my stuff, so I figured I was pretty well prepared, but you never know what might come up.

"No blood, no foul." Laura said, coming back over "Let's continue. I'll set the target up a little bit closer…"

After the archery lesson, I headed back to my cabin and used the already-installed work bench to make myself some more arrows. I stopped when I had enough to fill two quivers, and put them in my pack for later.

Later that night I got dressed, grabbed my bag, and crept out of my cabin. I waited five minutes behind the Big House for Hayden and Pynzlee. Hayden showed up after the first three minutes, wearing a black shirt and dark blue jeans. He had even gone far enough as to paint two black streaks under his eyes.

"Hayden is that _really_ necessary?" I asked, amused.

"Can't you and Pynzlee ever let me have any fun?" He laughed "I mean come on you have to admit it looks awesome."

Suddenly Pynzlee came running over, also dressed in black "Sorry I'm late!" she yell-whispered.

"Shh!" I whispered loudly "Do you _want_ us to get caught?"

"Sorry." She said again "I stopped to grab some drachmas from the fountain in my cabin."

"You have a fountain in your cabin?" I asked her.

"Long story." She replied.

"Well we're all here so let's go." I prompted, as me and Hayden started to walk off.

"Um, do you think we could wait a little longer?" Pynzlee said, guilt in her tone.

"Why?" I asked suspiciously.

"Hey guys! Wait for me!" called an all too familiar blond boy in black.

"Pynzlee you _didn't_." Hayden moaned.

"_Please _tell me you didn't invite Austin." I groaned.

"Hey. Wait." Austin panted as he came running over "I'm coming with you."

"_Pynz_." I half whined, half threatened.

"Well I thought he might be a useful addition to our team, with his healing skills and all." She shrugged, looking sheepish.

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Ok! I was really nervous about leaving, so Austin asked me what was wrong, and I caved." She confessed.

"*Goody-two-shoes*" Hayden coughed, earning an angry glare from Pynzlee.

"You know." Austin interrupted "I'm getting really tired of people talking like I'm not there."

"Fine." I grumbled "Since you already know the plan, we can't risk you staying here and snitching on us. You can come."

Looking smug, Austin started walking with us to the bottom of the hill.

We hadn't walked 20 feet before we heard a voice say "Where do you think you're going?"

I winced. At first I thought Chiron had caught us, but I realized that it had been a boy's voice.

I looked around before the voice said "Up here." Looking up, I saw Derek sitting on the branch of a tree.

"Derek!" Pynzlee whispered fiercely "What are you doing up there?"

"I'm on the night shift." He answered "And this," he gestured "is the Stoll brothers tree. I'm borrowing it until my shift is over."

Jumping down from branch to branch and (finally) onto the ground "So where are you going?" he said walking in front of us.

Stupidly, Austin answered "Sneaking out of camp to go on a quest."

Frustrated, I hit him in the back of the head with the drachma pouch.

"Ow!" He yelped.

"Good going smart one." I remarked "You just got us in trouble!"

"You know." Derek said "I should totally sell you guys out for this."

I sighed. I knew wishing he would just let us go was too much to ask for.

"But I won't." He finished.

"You won't?" Hayden asked, astonished.

"Are you kidding?" Derek "I've never gotten a chance to leave camp before. I'm coming with you!"

"What?" I asked, dumbfounded "No way!"

"Let me come or-"

"Or what?"

He smiled deviously "Or I'll rat you out to Mr. D."

"You wouldn't!"

"I would."

Great. First Pynzlee spills the beans, and now I'm getting blackmailed. Fantastic.

"Just let me come." He pleaded "I'm a great warrior and I have plenty of experience with monsters. I could help you."

I held my ground for five seconds before I gave in "Fine." I sighed.

"Yes!" He whispered, pumping his fist.

"We'll wait here while you get your stuff." Pynzlee told him.

"No need." He replied, shaking his head "I always bring a fully stocked pack with me whenever I'm on guard duty." He gestured to his backpack "So I'm all set."

"Why would you bring a fully stocked pack for one shift?" Austin asked.

"I don't know." Derek shrugged "Just in case."

"Well let's get going, before we're caught." Hayden pointed out.

We crept down the hill, where I had a black limo waiting.

I know using a cell phone is basically suicidal for demi-gods, but this was an emergency on my part. I had called a limo company and rented one, it was kind of short notice, but they stopped complaining when I offered to pay extra. I put the expense on my dad's tab. I figured he might scold me for it later, but that was a risk I was willing to take.

"Cool." Derek commented as soon as it was in sight "We're riding ins style."

Before we could reach the bottom of the hill, our path was cut off by none other than Dana.

"Where are you guys going?" she asked, hands on hips.

"Busted." Austin groaned.

"So, where are you going?" she asked again.

"Going on a quest." Hayden answered.

"Hayden!" Pynzlee yell-whispered, and hit him with the drachma pouch.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed.

"Nice going Senior Genius." Austin mumbled.

"Sneaking out of camp is against the rules." She said "You _do_ know that right?"

Derek stepped forward "And what are _you_ going to do about it? Are you going to be the little goody goody that you are and snitch on us?"

"Don't call me a goody goody." Dana retorted, turning bright red "And you should know how to follow the rules, you've been here long enough."

"Yeah, but at least I know how to have fun." He replied. "When have you ever gone out on a limb?"

"Ah…" Dana started, but coming up with nothing.

"Exactly." Derek said "Which is why you should come with us."

"What?" asked Pynzlee.

"We could use someone like you." Derek continued "You're smart, quick, and know almost everything there is about Greek Mythology."

As Derek continued to talk, I realized how having Dana along could be an advantage. "Yeah." I joined in "You should come with us. We could really use your help."

"Well…" Dana pondered "I guess when you put it like that. Besides, you guys are gonna need someone to keep you out of trouble, and if anyone's going to do it I guess it should be me.

"Great!" Hayden said "Let's go!"

"Just let me get my stuff." Dana said "I always keep an emergency pack under my bed in case anything like this ever happened."

While Dana went to get her stuff, I turned to Derek "Nice save." I told him.

"It was nothing." He answered.

When Dana came back, we all stepped into the limo and drove off.

After a few minutes of silence, Dana and Derek asked about the quest. When I told them about the Amazons, Dana seemed worried.

"The Amazons aren't the kind to give something so valuable up so easily, they can be dangerous, even deadly if we're not careful." She said.

"So where exactly do the Amazons live?" I asked her.

"Well they used to live somewhere in Sarmatia but ever since the gods moved west to America they now live on an abandoned island off the coast of South America." She answered.

"Abandoned? So is it like an uncharted island or something?" I asked.

"Not exactly. It's just that no one ever wants to go there, they think it's cursed." She shrugged.

"No wonder." Derek scoffed "With all the weird Greek rituals the Amazons are always doing, I'd think it was cursed too."

When we got to the dock of the Long Island Sound, I rented a speedboat bog enough for six.

"Shouldn't you kids be at home or something?" the man at the booth asked suspiciously.

"Sorry. That's classified." I answered "But if anyone asks, we were never here."

"All right.' He said "But, it's gonna cost you." He rubbed his fingers together.

"Ugh." I retorted rolling my eyes, reaching into my pocket. I pulled out a wad of cash and set it on the counter "Here, keep the change."

I ran over and joined the others in the boat. When we had all pulled on our life jackets, Austin asked a very important question.

"Anyone know how to work this thing?"

We all sat in clueless silence for a few seconds until Pynzlee spoke up "I think I could take a crack at it."

"Are you sure Pynz?" Hayden asked, looking at the dashboard "Looks kind of complicated."

Pynzlee nodded "I think so."

After Pynzlee miraculously got the motor started, we sped to Cape May, New Jersey in an hour, where we stopped for a gas refill and a bathroom break. Then Pynzlee sped us down to Cape Charles, Virginia in another two and half hours. I had to admit, she was really good at operating that speedboat.

From Cape Charles we docked the boat and took a ferry to Hampton Roads. When we got off, we walked to a nearby gas station/bus stop, where we bought a few extra snacks while we waited. We boarded the Greyhound going to South Carolina, it took two days before we got to Georgetown and transferred onto another Greyhound bus (this time going to Georgia).

When the bus came we got on and sat near the back.

"How long do you think it's gonna take to get to South America?" Hayden asked me, yawning.

"I don't know." I replied sleepily "But right now we should get some rest."

"I could use some shut eye." Derek yawned.

""Looks like Pynzlee beat you to it." Dana laughed.

I looked over and saw Pynzlee fast asleep on the seat.

Laughing to myself I rested my head on the back of the seat, and fell asleep.


	13. Dana Sends an IM

**Well here is chapter 13.**

**I felt Arabella needed a little character development, because what is a story if the characters always stay the same? That's not how life works, we all learn something from each other, so it just wouldn't be realistic of I didn't give Arabella a reason to change her perspective a little bit. It involves some female bonding between Arabella and Dana.**

The trip to Brunswick, Georgia took another two days, and by then we had already run out of food. After getting off the bus we stopped at diner and had our first quality meal in days.

Sitting at a booth in the far corner of the restaurant, we talked about the journey ahead.

"We're going to have to take another boat to get from Florida to South America." Dana pointed out, taking a bite of her cheeseburger.

"But where are we going to get enough money to buy the tickets?" Hayden asked, swallowing a bit of corn-dog "We've used nearly all of our cash."

Before anyone could come up with an answer, the waitress came over to collect the bill.

"That'll be $35.59." she said.

"Well, uh you see Miss we don't exactly have-"Dana started.

I reached in my pocket and pulled out a shiny platinum debit card before she could finish.

"We'll be paying with this." I told her.

The waitress nodded and walked over to the register to swipe my card.

"Where'd you get that?" Austin asked in awe.

"My dad." I said, smiling. "He gave it to me in case of an emergency."

"Nice." Derek commented, as the waitress came back over to hand me the receipt.

After lunch, we caught another greyhound going to Florida. During the ride, Dana and I figured out the best boat for getting to South America.

After another 24 hours, we pulled into Jacksonville, Florida. Dana insisted that we camp in the woods.

"We're less likely to be seen that way." She said. "And fewer eyewitnesses mean fewer questions."

After walking for a couple hours, we finally set up camp in wide clearing, where Hayden set up a fire. While Derek and I were unrolling the sleeping bags, I saw Dana putting together a misting gun form a kit she had in her backpack. "What's that for?" I asked her.

"Oh, uh, just in case we need it later." She replied.

I stared at her for a couple seconds, trying to think of what we'd need a misting gun for, and came up blank. I shrugged and continued to unroll my sleeping bag. Austin and Pynzlee came back a few minutes later from the convenience store, and we all roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for dinner. Worn out, we went to bed immediately after that.

A couple hours into the night, I woke up to the sound of Dana's voice.

"-to get the golden girdle of Hippolyta." I heard her say.

"Dana?" I mumbled drowsily "Who are you talking to?"

Rubbing my eyes, I sat up and looked in Dana's direction. Dana had used the misting gun to create a fine spray (in which shone a rainbow) where I saw her talking to an image of none other than Chiron.

Propping myself on my elbow, I reached over to Derek and started shaking him awake. "Derek!" I gasped.

"What?" he groaned.

"Wake up!" I cried.

"Why?" he asked.

"Just do it!" I told him.

He rubbed his eyes "This better be good."

Meanwhile my outbursts had woken everyone else up as well.

"What do you want 'Air-head'-bella?" Austin grumbled.

"Dana is talking to Chiron!" I told them. I turned to Austin "Call me that again and you'll end up eating your own socks."

"But that's impossible!" Pynzlee said "We're several hundred miles away from camp."

"She must be sending an IM!" Derek cried.

"Instant messaging?" Hayden asked "But she doesn't have a phone."

"Iris messaging, you goofball." Derek scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Well somebody stop her before she tells him where we are!" Pynzlee pointed out.

Austin and Derek jumped out of their sleeping bags running at top speed towards Dana.

"And we- Hey!" Dana yelled as they grabbed her by the arms.

"Sorry." Austin said, as he and Derek held Dana's hands behind her back "But it's for your own good."

With Dana in custody, Hayden took over "Forget all that you have seen here." He said, holding up two fingers in a sunset motion.

Pynzlee hurried over and dismantled the misting gun "Really Hayden?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hayden shrugged "It was worth a shot."

Meanwhile I fumed at Dana "What were you thinking?" I asked angrily "Were you trying to get us in trouble?"

"In hindsight, we probably should have seen this coming." Derek commented.

"No one asked you." I snapped.

Dana scowled and looked as if she was about to say something, but then the scowl turned to a look of shame as she hung her head "I'm sorry." She said "I just felt really bad about not telling anybody we left because I knew they'd be worried about us."

"You make it sound like we're never coming back." I said.

"Well what if we don't?" she answered "Demi-gods die on quests all the time, how is this any different?"

"It IS different."

"How?" she asked doubtfully.

"Because we've got you." I told her.

There was a long pause before Derek yawned "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going back to bed."

"Me too." Hayden said.

"Ditto." Austin added.

"Boys." Pynzlee muttered in disgust. She turned back to Dana "Is there something else bothering you?"

"Could you guys talk some where else?" Derek called from his sleeping bag "We're trying to sleep here."

I shot him a look of dislike, and walked over to a small nearby hill with Dana and Pynzlee.

"So tell us what's up." I said to Dana when we were out of earshot.

Dana sighed "It's just that I've been going to camp for four years and-"

"Wait." Pynzlee interrupted "You've been going to Camp Half Blood since you were 10?"

Dana nodded "That's a long time for some demi-gods. And ya' know in a way all of us are related in some retrospect."

My nose crinkled in repulsion at the thought of being related to Austin.

"I've been there for a long time, and when you've been there for that long you see things that changes the way you think about other people. Like when all of us are in battle, some kids who are enemies have to work together. Or when someone you didn't think you liked dies on a quest or in battle. It makes you see how important family is. And a lot of us there have either been kicked out of every school in the state or run away from home, so you can see a lot of people don't understand us. We're pretty much all each other have."

Now feeling disgraced for yelling at her "I'm sorry." I apologized.

"Don't be." She said, she turned to me "Why is this quest so important to you?" she asked suddenly.

That question surprised me. Not knowing what to say to her, I looked away.

Seeing I wasn't going to answer, Dana changed the subject "We should probably go to bed now."

"Yeah." Pynzlee agreed "Besides we need to get up early tomorrow."

"Good night." I said to them as we curled up in our sleeping bags.

"Good night." They answered before falling asleep.

**Please review, a story is almost nothing without comment and constructive criticism. I also wrote the chapter this way so we could explore Dana's character a little bit. Because she's the know-it-all rule follower right? Wrong! Dana is like any other person, she has feelings and reasons for why she does things, she wasn't just another character; she's one of Arabella's friends.**

**I hope you liked it, and remember to review!**


	14. We Are the Subject of a Manhunt

**I am SO sorry I didn't work on this sooner but I just started working on it today, and I got in the zone. Also one of the scenes in here was kind of inspired by a scene in the Disney Channel movie 'Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas'**

**Disclaimer: Ah, do I have to? I don't Percy Jackson or any other of the characters; I only own my OC's blah blah blah whatever.**

**P.S. I looked up Greek monsters, and a Mormo was actually one of them. I'm not kidding. Also it didn't really have a description so I just made their appearance up.**

Upon waking up, I told everyone to pack up their sleeping bags immediately. "We need to get a move on." I said "Now that the word is out, it won't be long before they're on our trail."

"Yeah." Austin snorted "Thanks to Dana."

"Shut up." She angrily replied.

"Spare me the fight." I said, rolling my eyes "Just hurry up and pack."

As soon as we had everything collected, we walked through several miles of thick branches, grass, and fallen logs; guided by Dana, we managed to escape the worst nature had to offer. After numerous hours of walking, we stopped to rest in a humid swampy area. Sitting down we all took a much needed drink from our canteens.

"It's official." Austin sighed "I hate nature."

"You're telling me." Hayden groaned, trying to scratch the middle of his back 'I've got mosquito bites in places I can't even reach."

"Would anyone happen to have any itch ointment?" Pynzlee asked, scratching her arms.

"Are we _any _closer to the coast Dana?" Derek asked, attempting to unwind a vine that had twisted itself around his ankle.

"We should be." Dana replied "We've been hiking for hours."

"We better be." I remarked, scratching my leg "I want to get out of here before any of us catch malaria."

Dana reached into her pack and brought out a map. "Let's see. We should be pretty close to Jacksonville Beach. We could probably catch a boat there."

"One with room service?" Derek asked hopefully.

"How exactly are we going to know which island the Amazons live on?" Pynzlee asked "There are hundreds of uncharted islands; it could be any one of them."

"We'll know it when we see it." Dana answered. "Bear with it, guys. It'll all be over soon. Just another hour or so and we'll be there."

After a few more minutes of resting and grumbling, we finally started off again. "You know," I commented absentmindedly "We've been all over the countryside and we haven't been attacked by any monsters."

"I know." Derek nodded "It's weird, we have a daughter of Poseidon and a daughter of Artemis and we haven't even heard one monster."

"It's convenient." Pynzlee agreed.

"Maybe too convenient." Hayden put in.

"Give me a break Hayden." Austin said, rolling his eyes.

"Hayden might be right Austin." Dana said "It is a little too convenient. We should be knee deep in monsters by now."

"Never make assumptions." I smirked "Especially if you're a bleached blond."

"My hair isn't bleached!" Austin yelled. "And at least I'm not an air-head!"

I whirled around to face him. "I told you to stop calling me that!"

"Guys." I heard Derek's voice say.

"Well you are an air-head!" Austin shouted back, ignoring Derek.

"Guys." His voice said again.

"I'm not the one who fainted at the school talent show!" I snapped back.

"Oh, one time and marked for life!" he complained. "I'm pretty sure getting hit in the head with 5 different dodge balls messed up your brain."

"That was at one game and we still won!" I countered.

"Guys!" Derek yelled.

"What?" me and Austin exclaimed in unison.

"We're here." He answered.

Surprised, me and Austin turned around. Sure enough, there was the city of Jacksonville, Florida.

"Um excuse me." Dana said to a man passing by. "Could you tell me where we could catch a boat?"

The guy just looked at her for a second with a nervous look on his face before he took off down the sidewalk.

"Well that was awfully rude." Dana said.

"Can you blame him though?" Derek pointed out. "Look at us; we look like a bunch of hobos."

I realized he was right; just one look in the store window next to us was all the proof he needed. Our clothes torn and dirty along with our dirt and mud smudged faces and messy hair. We looked like a group of homeless people.

"Well that explains a lot." Hayden commented "We need to get cleaned up."

"Good thing we brought extra clothes." Pynzlee said. She turned to where she had set the bag down; only to find it wasn't there anymore. "What the heck?" she exclaimed "What happened?"

"Our stuff just got lifted, that's what happened." Hayden replied grimly.

"So now we have no clothes or money whatsoever?" Austin cried "Great, just great."

We all stood in silent despair for a few moments before Hayden's eyes lit up. "Maybe we can earn some money!"

"How?" Pynzlee asked bitterly "Drop on our hands and knees and beg?"

Hayden scowled "No. You've seen street performers right? We could do something like that." His eyebrows scrunched up the way they usually did when he was thinking "We just need someone who can sing and or play an instrument."

We thought a moment; and then turned toward Austin, smirking.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that?" he asked.

_*Line Break*_

"I'm not doing it!" Austin said as we all pushed him toward a crowd lingering by a large fountain.

"It's just one song you big baby." Derek growled, trying in vain to push Austin closer to the fountain "So suck it up, we need the money."

"Augh! This is taking too long." I cried in frustration; pushing him with all my strength into the crowd "Hey everybody, this kid is gonna sing a song for you!" I shouted.

Austin visibly froze as all eyes form the crowd turned on him. "Um...hi?" he said nervously. The people waited "So." He chuckled "Yeah… um."

Dana nudged him harshly from behind "Sing you idiot, you're losin' them"

Austin gulped and began singing the first verse.

_If you ever leave me, baby,_

_Leave some morphine at my door_

_Cause it would take a whole lot of medication_

_To realize what we used to have,_

_We don't have it anymore._

_There's no religion that could save me_

_No matter how long my knees are on the floor, oh_

_So keep in mind all the sacrifices I'm making_

_To keep you by my side_

_And keep you from walking out the door._

_Cause there'll be no sunlight if I lose you, baby_

_There'll be no clear skies if I lose you, baby_

_Just like the clouds, my eyes will do the same if you walk away_

_Everyday, it will rain, rain, rain_

_I'll never be your mother's favorite_

_Your daddy can't even look me in the eye_

_Oooh, If I was in their shoes, I'd be doing the same thing_

_Saying there goes my little girl walking with that troublesome guy_

_But they're just afraid of something they can't understand_

_Oooh, well little darling watch me change their minds_

_Yea for you I'll try, I'll try, I'll try, I'll try_

_I'll pick up these broken pieces 'till I'm bleeding_

_If that'll make it right_

_Cause there'll be no sunlight if I lose you, baby_

_There'll be no clear skies if I lose you, baby_

_Just like the clouds, my eyes will do the same if you walk away_

_Everyday, it will rain, rain, rain_

_Ooooh, Don't just say goodbye, don't just say, goodbye_

_I'll pick up these broken pieces 'till I'm bleeding_

_If that'll make it right_

_Cause there'll be no sunlight if I lose you, baby_

_There'll be no clear skies if I lose you, baby_

_Just like the clouds, my eyes will do the same if you walk away_

_Everyday, it will rain, rain, rain..._

When he finished the last verse, the crowd went absolutely nuts; as much as I hated to admit it, he was a pretty good singer. My only consolation was the fact that he had to dodge the blows of the quarters, nickels, dimes, and pennies, as well as paper dollars, being thrown at him.

When the crowd dispersed we ran over and counted the money, which came out to about 40 to 50 dollars; pretty generous crowd.

"Well we can't exactly buy new clothes with this." Said Dana "But we can get lunch if everyone orders something fairly cheap."

"We better wash up with some of the water in the fountain" Pynzlee said "Or they might just throw table scraps at us instead."

We washed the dirt and mud off our faces and off our clothes as well as we could before we went in search of a restaurant. We finally found a Denny's about 2 blocks away.

"I just remembered that all our nectar, ambrosia, and drachmas were in our bags too." Hayden said about halfway through our meal.

"Way to brighten things up Hayden." I remarked.

"Hey." Hissed Pynzlee "There's the little weasel that stole our stuff." She gestured to a girl a few tables away.

"How do you know she did it Pynz?" I asked, doubtfully.

"Because." She replied "She's wearing _my _shirt."

I did a double take, and saw that she was indeed wearing Pynzlee's favorite solid sea green Tee.

"And it gets worse." Pynzlee whimpered, laying her head on the table "She looks better in it than I do."

"Okay." whispered Hayden "Here's the plan. You two," He pointed to Dana and me "distract her by wearing fake mustaches and talking in Scottish accents while Pynzlee and I stealthily sneak over using our superhuman ninja skills and nab our bags. Go!"

We all looked at each other "Hayden there are at least three things wrong with your plan." I told him "One: we don't have any fake mustaches. Two: I don't know what a Scottish accent even sounds like. And three: you don't superhuman ninja skills. Or any ninja skills."

"Fine what do _you _propose we do?" Hayden asked me.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to give her a piece of my mind." Pynzlee said, getting up from the table.

"Pynz, come back!" Hayden yell-whispered, he turned to me and Dana "One of you guys go after her!"

Standing up we swiftly caught up with Pynzlee as she arrived at the girl's table "Hey-" she started, before Dana pulled her back and covered her mouth.

"Excuse me." Dana chuckled nervously, while trying to hold a struggling Pynzlee "But I think you have some of our luggage?"

She looked up at us "So? What are you gonna do about it?" she sneered.

Dana looked shocked "Well, could we have them back?"

"Hm, let me think about it. No."

I turned to Dana "I'm about to introduce this little smart aleck's face to my fist." I whispered.

"Give it a minute." She whispered back "Why not? She asked.

"I don't take orders from bad children." She hissed, sounding slightly snake like.

"Um, what?" Pynzlee asked, looking weirded out.

"What's taking you guys so long?" I heard Derek say from behind us. When had the boys gotten here?

"Ah, more bad children, good I'm in a nibbling mood." She smiled, still sounding like a snake.

"_What _is she _talking _about?" I murmured to Dana.

"Hey." Dana mused, peering at her "I know what you are. You're a Mormo"

At that the girl's skin turned a light green, her ears turned pointed, her tongue forked, and her eyes yellow.

"Whoa!" Hayden cried as we all went back a step "That's just creepy."

"Yes, demigods, you've been bad children." She hissed, advancing toward us "Children are not supposed to travel alone, so you will have to be bitten!"

"Um, I think it's time to run!" I cried. Everyone took my advice and ran out of the restaurant and down to the pier.

"You can run, but you can't hide children!"

"Oh yeah? Watch us!" Austin yelled, dragging me and Dana behind some cargo boxes.

"What exactly is so bad about Mormos besides the fact that they look like creepy evil elves?" Hayden asked looking around the corner.

"They're monsters from ancient Greek mythology; they had a reputation of biting bad children."

"What's so bad about that?" Austin asked.

"Their bites are poisonous." Dana answered.

"And since they're spirits they're almost impossible to defeat unless you catch them by surprise." Derek added.

"Then we'll just catch her by surprise." Austin commented.

Just then the boxes we were hiding behind exploded to reveal the Mormo positioned right in back of us.

"Looks like the tables have turned demigods." She laughed "How about we play a game? It makes the chase more interesting. For me." Laughing, she unexpectedly charged Hayden, knocking him to the ground and holding him by the neck. 'How about we start with you child of Hermes? You've been the naughtiest of all your friends."

She turned to us "And you can try and save him. Won't that be fun?"

"You're twisted!" I shouted, and took of my necklace, transforming it into my silver bow and arrows.

"Tsk, tsk that's not part of the game." She said, pressing down harder on Hayden's neck as his eyes started to water.

"New rules." Derek growled, taking out his sword. Dana and Austin took out their weapon too. Pynzlee armed herself with the nearest stick.

"Now let go of my friend." I threatened, taking aim to her face.

"I _was _going to save you for last, but you're being _very _difficult."

"I'm flexible." I sneered.

"Uh guys?" Hayden wheezed "Maybe… a little…less talking... I'm-" he went into a forced coughing fit "-Being choked here." He sounded slightly shrill on the word 'here'.

The Mormo's eyes narrowed "Then you're next." She hissed.

"And you're monster dust!" Dana yelled throwing a disc made of celestial bronze at the Mormo.

The monster was quick however, and jumped out of the way, taking Hayden with her.

"Do that one more time, and I guarantee you won't live long enough to shoot that arrow." I swear Hayden's face was starting to turn blue, when all of a sudden a dagger flew out of the air and into the Mormo's back. She screamed in agony as she exploded into dust, leaving behind Pynzlee's shirt and a disoriented Hayden.

"Are you okay?" Pynzlee cried, running over to Hayden who was having a violent coughing fit.

"Do I-" he took a deep breath "Look okay?" He turned to face her "A stick Pynzlee?" He wheezed "You were going to save me using…a stick?"

"Well his personality is still intact." Derek commented. "But you're probably going to have a few bruises on that neck." He told Hayden.

Dana picked up the knife that had killed the Mormo. Her eyes widened "I recognize this."

Austin grabbed the ruined sea green t-shirt and held it out to Pynzlee "Here's your shirt."

"Uh, no thanks" Pynzlee said, pushing his hand away "I'll just get another one when we get back to Camp Half-Blood."

"Which is right now." Said a voice form behind us.

Surprised, we all turned around to see Victor Wins from the Nike cabin along with Agatha Good from the Hermes cabin and Laura Buschmann from the Apollo cabin.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked them, shocked.

"What does it look like we're doing?" Laura said "We're here to take you back to camp."

"No way." Austin replied "How'd you guys get here so fast anyway?"

"The flying chariot." Dana told him "It can get from half way across the country in a matter of hours."

"I'm astonished Dana." Victor said, raising an eyebrow "You usually don't break the rules." He turned to Derek "However I'm not surprised that you're here."

"Chiron sent us to bring you guys back." Agatha told us, she turned to Pynzlee "Percy's really worried about you Pynzlee."

"When you get back to camp, tell him that I can take care of myself."

"Why would I have to tell him that?" Agatha asked, looking confused.

"Because." She started backing up next to the pier "We're not going!" she shouted as a wave of water came up from the pier and crashed onto everyone.

"Come on!" Pynzlee yelled, running toward the boats. We all followed her example as we heard Laura, Agatha, and Victor recover from their surprise and start to run after us.

"Where are we going?" Hayden asked.

"Just follow me!" she answered as she neared a cargo boat. She ran up to a guy dressed in a sailor's uniform "Excuse me where's this ship going."

"Brazil, but-"

"Works for me!" she cried, pushing him aside and running up the boardwalk.

"Hey you can't- ah!" he yelled as we pushed past him knocking him into the water.

"What do we do now?" Hayden asked.

"Which way did they go?" I heard Victor's voice say.

"These boxes need to go over here." Said another voice, which was probably one of the ship's workers.

"We hide." I said plainly "And fast."

**Please Review! =D =D It would be a nice early Christmas present, and it doesn't cost anything but your time and thought! =D**


	15. Hijacking the Ship

**Sorry this took so long, but my inspiration for this chapter took a vacation and came back in the middle of my summer school class. The fact that we were reading _The Odyssey_ probably spurred this along, it's a really great story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson, yada yada yada.**

We all scrambled around looking for hiding places. Derek and I hid in between some crates, Pynzlee and Austin ducked behind some barrels, and Dana and Hayden hid underneath some mail bags.

After the voices of the sailors had come and gone, I signaled that the coast was clear.

"How'd they find us?" Hayden asked, exasperated.

"It must have been Dana's Iris Message." Derek explained, scowling at Dana.

"Would you have happened to tell Chiron that we were in Florida?" I inquired, putting my hands on my hips.

"It might've come up." she replied, looking sheepish.

"Hopefully we'll set sail before they wise up and start searching the ships for us." Austin pointed out.

"We can't wait that long." Pynzlee stated. "We need to get this ship away from the dock now."

I raised an eyebrow. "What did you have in mind Pynz?"

Pynzlee smirked slightly. "Derek, grab some rope. Hayden, find some duct tape. I have a plan."

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"So let me get this straight," Hayden whispered, as he and I snuck around one of the ship's smokestacks. "We're going to hijack the ship?"

"That's the plan." I answered, looking around.

"And this was thought up by Pynzlee?" he said in disbelief. "Our friend, _Pynzlee_?"

"Hey, I'm just as surprised as you." I told him. "I guess underneath that rule abiding exterior, lies a devious troublemaker."

"Remind me to watch out for her in the future." Hayden mumbled.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, I couldn't help but smile a little. "We need to find the control room." I said, trying to focus.

"How hard can it be?" he snorted.

It was at this moment that we were joined by Dana, who had chosen to scout ahead.

"The place is crawling with crew members." she told us.

I punched Hayden in the arm. "Jinx." I hissed.

Hayden frowned, rubbing the place where I had punched him. "Geez, haven't I suffered enough abuse today?" he muttered under his breath. "We have to get the crew all in one place."

"Hayden that might be the most sense I've heard come out of your mouth." Dana admitted.

Hayden grinned and stuck his tongue out at me.

"Very mature." I said grimly, rolling my eyes. "We'll need to move quick. Victor, Agatha, and Laura have probably started searching the ships for us."

It took less time than I thought it would, but we finally reached the control room unspotted. By the time we got there though, Pynzlee, Austin, and Derek were already waiting for us.

"Took you guys long enough." Derek commented.

I resisted the urge to hit him. "We got held up."

"Guys." Pynzlee interrupted. "We have to hurry."

I nodded at Hayden, who brought a lock picking kit from one of his pockets. In a few seconds he had flipped the lock open and silently turned the door knob.

The Captain's back was toward us, which made it easier to surround him and block off the exits. With everything in place, Pynzlee stood directly behind the Captain and loudly cleared her throat.

Startled, he turned around. "What are you kids doing here? No children are allowed on this voyage." he said, surprised, but stern.

Pynzlee grimaced. "Excuse me. But we are _not_ children."

He looked uneasy as we closed in on him.

"We're teenagers." Pynzlee continued, motioning for Derek to hand her the rope. "And your worst nightmare."

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"This is your captain speaking." Derek smirked into the microphone. "Please all gather into the nearest recreational room for an announcement."

I could practically hear the cries of protest from the room as Hayden locked in the crew a few minutes later.

I walked over to the Pynzlee, who was manning the steering wheel and adjusting a few things on the control panel. "What are planning on doing with the detainees Captain?" I asked, as she fiddled with the cap she had 'borrowed'.

"Drop them off at the nearest stop." she replied. "Until then, make sure they're comfortable, and they don't escape."

"Aye, aye." Austin saluted.

"About as comfortable as they can get as prisoners." Derek scoffed. "I sure hope they can speak Portuguese, or at least Spanish."

"Wait." Hayden spoke up "How do we know Victor, Agatha, and Laura won't follow us?"

I turned to Dana with a worried look. "What if they follow us in the flying chariot?"

"If we're lucky we'll be far away by the time they realize we're gone." she said. "Plus, I know these guys; they're far from stupid, but when it comes to realizations, they aren't the quickest."

"We should be glad they didn't send Annabeth." Pynzlee put in.

"We'd have been caught in an instant." Dana agreed.

"You seem to be on board with this now." I mused.

"Derek was right." she shrugged. "I never break the rules. And now that I have; I'll admit I actually feel good about myself." she said all this with unexpected enthusiasm.

"Welcome to the dark side." Austin grinned, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We've been expecting you."

Dana playfully punched him in the arm. "Just don't expect me to turn into a regular rule breaker like you guys."

This was the first real good time I had had in weeks. I was feeling pretty optimistic about this quest.

Little did I know, that soon things would take a turn for the worst.

**Dun. Dun. Duuuhhh!**

**What will happen? Will they be caught? Will they make it to the island of the Amazons? When will I stop asking all these questions?**

**Reviews are much appreciated! :D**


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